The Endless Cycle
by YunaBlaze
Summary: Gaia have given Genesis a chance to change the tragic past, with his powers and spirit trap within a materia, everything depends on fate if he regains his strength before it's too late, but will Cloud be able to aid or make things more difficult for him?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.**

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Prologue

'_Are you sure you want to go back?' A young brown hair girl asked._

'_Yes.' A man in a crimson coat replied._

'_There is no turning back. You won't be able to see them anymore...'_

'_I know, but it is also because of me that they are neither dead, nor alive...' The man said those words with a hint of sadness in his voice._

'_I understand.' The brunette said. 'But the way for you to go back in time_ is... _not a very comfortable... I mean being trap in a materia and all...'_

'_Believe me, Ancient. Being seal away in a cave for more than five years, I don't anything is uncomfortable for me.' The man said with a grin._

'_Hey, I have name you know, it's Aeris!' The young lady said pouting like a puppy which the man was sure she got it from her boyfriend. 'Anyway, I really want you to be sure of your choice before we proceed any further.'_

'_I'm more than sure, _Aeris_.'_

'_Are you really, _really_ sure?' The brown hair girl asked again._

'_You know you really look like Zack right now.' The reply caused the girl to let out an exasperated sigh and muttered something like "hardhead" before she clasped her hands together like she is prying._

_Green threads made of light started to surround the man from the ground like caging him. He felt his blood was burning and his body was like breaking into pieces as he cried in agony which slowly to turn into a long eerie screech. Another black wing sprouted from his back and enveloped his body before the light had completely enveloped him too and then it started to compress into a small red orb attached to a silver chain._

_Aeris held out her hands to hold the precious necklace as she whispered to the orb: 'Be careful. You are not the only one who will be returning to the past. Jenova have already set her plan in motion...'_

_A portal opened itself under her feet. She slowly let the necklace slipped past her fingers and fell to the portal before it vanished._

'_Good luck... Genesis...' The brown hair girl whispered before her body turned into green light threads and flew back to the Lifestream, Gaia's life force._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.**

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A Whole New Beginning

At the foot of Mt. Nibel was a small and peaceful village named Nibelheim, where everyone lived a normal life and had daily routines. Everyone except a spiky blond hair 9-years-old boy, his name is Cloud Strife, who lived with his mother, Rayne Strife.

Cloud looked at the kids outside from his window and let out a boring sigh as he sat on his bed. He hated the other kids, they are all so childish and so irresponsible, it made him sick to even think to play with them, but Tifa, a girl with long black hair and big brown eyes who lived next door, could be consider a special case, she is a little more mature than the others. Now that he thinks about it, where did Tifa go?

'Cloud!' A soft voice called out which stopped the train of thought of the boy. The petit blond jumped off his bed and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen where his mother is cooking their lunch.

'Yes, mother?' The boy asked as looked up at his mother with his big blue eyes.

'Cloud, could go out and buy some breads at Mr. Gibbs?' The blond nodded his head and was about to head out before Rayne added. 'The money is on the table!'

Cloud took the money on his way out of the house. He quickly ran towards the store that's right the water tower and brought the breads his mother asked for. When he exited the store with a small bag carrying the groceries, he was about to head back to his house as fast as he can, but a small flash caught his attention.

The young boy stared at the outskirt of the village towards the ShinRa Mansion, where everyone said that is haunted by vengeful ghosts after it was abandoned. There he saw something red flashed among the grass, he looked at it and his house, back and forth, before his curiosity got the best of him and he went to the outskirt where the red object lays, he knelt down and took the strange object into his small hand.

'A necklace?' Cloud said as he studied the red orb attached by a silver chain. _Pretty. Mom will definitely like it!_ He looked around him to see if anyone saw him picking the necklace before he ran back to his house.

'Mom! Mom! Mom!' The young boy shouted when he entered the house, he dashed to the kitchen and put the breads on the table before he dangled his find at his mother. 'Look what I have found!'

The widow took the necklace in her hand and examined it for a moment before she asked: 'Where did you get this?'

'I found it on the ground near the mansion.' Cloud answered honestly. 'I think you'll love it, so I pick it up.'

His mother stared at it for another minute and then she said: 'It's beautiful, but I think you should hold it.'

'Why?' The boy asked.

Rayne didn't answered and put the jewel over his son's neck and placed her hand over his head like a blessing as she said: 'Anybody could have pick this in the morning, but none did. It must be fate for you to find it. I'm sure it will bring you some good fortune.'

Cloud smiled brightly as he looked down at the necklace he is wearing right now and then his mother told him to go wash his hands for lunch. When he reached the bathroom, he saw a girl in a blue robe and some other boys near the mansion, one of them shouted to girl: 'Wait, Tifa! It's dangerous!'

Tifa ignored the warning and continued her way, Cloud thought she was heading towards the mansion, but she was going for the small road leading to the mountains, the boys did nothing to stop her and just followed her. Cloud's eyes widen and he quickly dashed out of the house, leaving behind a complete shocked Rayne.

He chased after the small group into the mountains where people believed that it was cursed, because of all the ill tragedies that happened among the stones and shadows, no one want to go through the mountain without a guide.

As he continued his way among the rocky road, the boys, one by one, decided to give up on following the girl, but Cloud couldn't allow Tifa to continue her way through the mountains, so he pushed his leg to their limit and he was able to reach her at the old wooden bridge.

'Tifa! Come back! It's dangerous!' The young boy shouted as he came to a halt before the two wooden posts that were the hanging bridge only support and the girl stood in the middle of it.

'Momma is on the other side of the mountain! I want to see Momma!' Tifa shouted back as she took another small step on the rotten wood plank, but a strong gust of wind caused the bridge to move from side to side, preventing the small girl to advance any further and held on the ropes tightly while the woods beneath her was cracking dangerously.

Cloud darted towards the girl without caring his own safety, but when he reached her, the woods they were standing on collapsed by the extra weight of another child and both children fell to the bottomless chasm.

The boy's conscious was slowly slipping away, a red light and black feathers came into his view and he suddenly felt the grip of something on his shirt before darkness took over his sight completely.

***

_**Cloud... Wake up...**_

_What?_

_**Cloud.... They are waiting for you...**_

'Cloud!' A voice yelled as the blond felt someone shaking him. His eyelids seemed heavier than they used to, the boy forced them to open up, but he quickly closed again when the sudden brightness stung his pupils.

'Cloud! Thank Gaia, you're okay!' Someone said as Cloud felt the person hugged him tightly and released him when he winced in pain.

He opened his eyes again only to see blurs of two or three figures around him, he blinked a few times as the figures sharpen gradually. The first figure was his mother, the second, Tifa's father, Mr. Lockhart, a man in his forties with grey brown hair and the same color shade as her daughter, and the third one was Dr. Krauss, the town's doctor wearing his usual square glass, hazel eyes staring intimately at him.

'What's going on?' Cloud asked as he lay back down on his bed.

'You save Tifa, Cloud. You save her from getting more injuries.' Rayne explained as the grey haired doctor whispered something to Tifa's father before leaving.

'Son, I thank you for saving my daughter and I'm happy to see you well and alive.' Mr. Lockhart said in a very weary voice. 'But I have to ask you to not visit Tifa these days. She is still grieving for the recent news of my wife, her mother's death.'

_That explains why she went to the mountains. _Cloud thought, knowing very well that Tifa's mother lived at Rocket Town that's over the other side of Mt. Nibel. _But I didn't save her... Someone or something else saved __**us**_. The boy couldn't find his voice to tell the adults the truth and with nothing to say to the man, he could only nod his head in acknowledgement.

After Tifa's father left too, Rayne let out a heavy sigh before she smiled at her son brightly, tears swirling in her eyes as she looked at him and then at the red jewel over his chest. 'I'm really glad you are safe, Cloud. This had indeed brought you good fortune...'

She leaned down to kiss his forehead telling him to rest before she left his room and turned off the light on her way. After a few minutes, when Cloud was sure that her mother should be back to her room, he got off the bed and made his way to his table. He opened the first drawer and took out a book which contained newspaper clippings of his idol, Sephiroth, who some considered as a blood-thirsty demon and some as the strongest hero who walks on the planet.

_Someday, I'll be just like you Sephiroth... Then I will have the strength to protect Tifa with my own hands. I will become stronger! _Cloud mentally vowed as he stared at the photo of a man in a black leather coat with silver shoulder guard on each side holding a long katana, he had cat-like green eyes and waist-length silver hair. _I'll become a SOLDIER and one of the strongest on Gaia too!_

SOLDIER is an elite fighting force of Shinra Inc., a powerful company which held the political, social and military power all over the world, which every kid around his age would wish to join to be just Sephiroth.

The boy closed the book as he stared at the starry sky and his fingers were playing with the red orb. He looked down at it and whispered: 'What do you _really_ bring to me?'

When he went back to sleep, there is only one thought in his mind. _I'm going to join SOLDIER._

***

Three days later, Cloud was packing his clothes and personal items in his duffel bag. Rayne who stood at the doorframe stared at her son with pride and sadness, she knew it was his dream to become a SOLDIER to prove to the townspeople that he is stronger than they think, but for her, he is still the small innocent child who she had gave birth to and who will always need her guidance. Yet her heart tells her that she should give his son this chance to face the world alone without her beside him.

'Cloud, are you sure about joining SOLDIER?' Rayne asked for the thousandth time since his son announced to her that he will be leaving for Midgar where Shinra Inc. is located.

'Yes, mom. I'm definitely and fully sure about my choice.' The boy replied sternly as he zipped his traveling bag closed and swung it over his shoulder.

Crystal tears flowing down the face of the blond hair woman as she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle a sob. The young boy reminded her of her late husband, strong and determined in every thing he does.

'Mom, please don't cry...' Cloud said in a comforting tone as he closed his hand around the one of her mother. 'I promise I'll be back very soon and I'm going to be famous when I come back.'

'I know, I know...' The sad widow said as she embraced his son in tight hug and hid her face in the wild blond hair of her son.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes before Rayne broke them apart to wipe away her tears. 'Come. You're going to be late for your bus.'

Rayne knew she had to be strong in front of him, so he won't worry too much about leaving her behind to fulfill his dream. They walked out of the house, in complete silence, to the bus stop sign at the entrance of the town where the bus that will bring his son to Midgar will stop.

Suddenly someone shouted: 'CLOUD!'

Both mother and son turned around to see a raven hair girl limping towards them shouting the boy's name, Cloud put his bag on the ground while Rayne hurried to the girl's side to help her walking, but the girls stopped a few steps away from the small boy.

Cloud just stood there staring at them without knowing what to say as they heard the distant sound of a bus. Deciding to break the silence, he said: 'Good to see you alive and well Tifa.'

'That's it?' The little girl asked rather furiously which caused Cloud to stare at her dumbfounded. 'That's all you have to say after saving my life?'

The blond hair boy rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly since he never thought of a speech of some kind for his depart. He gulped nervously as the sound of the bus is getting closer, he found himself mentally hoping that it would be here soon because he is very uncomfortable with the situation he is in right now.

'Will you come back?' Tifa asked more calmly which brought Cloud out of his thoughts. 'I mean you'll come back, to Nibelheim, to home, to _us_?'

He stared at the little girl to the woman back and forth before he nodded his head and said: 'I promise I'll definitely come back and when I do, I'll be as famous as Sephiroth does.'

'Then will you come and protect when we need it?' The raven hair asked timidly this time.

'Whenever and wherever you need me, I'll be there to protect both of you.' Cloud promised as the big bus came into their view. When it stopped right next to the stop sign, the boy picked up his duffel bag and looked at his friend and mother who are smiling warmly at him while their eyes were glistering with tears as he climbed into the back of the bus. From the vehicle's window, he waved at them good-bye.

_I'll definitely become a well-known SOLDIER._ The boy thought as the bus started to move again. Tifa, somewhat stubborn, limped after the bus like trying to catch it until she tripped and fell to the ground. Cloud stared at the fallen girl worriedly, but he felt a certain relief when he saw his mother helping the girl up before they were out of his sight. _I won't disappoint both of you..._

After thirty minutes, the spiky hair boy doesn't feel very good, he felt light-headed and his heart is in his throat. Suddenly someone lightly tapped his shoulder and a bottle of water came into his unfocused vision.

'Here, drinks this it'll make you feel better.' A soft voice said, Cloud thanked the mysterious person and drank half of the bottle. The clear liquid did make him feel less sicken than before. 'See, all better now, aren't we?'

The blond turned his head to thank his helper again, but when he saw this person, he had completely lost his voice.

'What? Do I have something on my hair?' The boy who was about the same age as Cloud is asked while the blond shook his head. It wasn't what's _on_ his hair that's shocking him, but _the_ color of his shoulder-length hair, it was silver, and his eyes, they looked almost like those of a cat and they are deep green just like his idol, Sephiroth!

'Wait, let me guess. My hair looks like Sephiroth?' The silver hair boy asked sarcastically and the blond nodded his head. 'Okay, just to make my point clear. I am not related to the legendary SOLDIER or anything. My hair is natural and not dyed. So could you stop staring at me like I have two heads, instead of one?'

Cloud muttered a small apology to his helper who just waved his hand to dismiss the statement before he realized that he is being impolite, for both staring and not presenting himself politely, so he offered his hand and asked: 'What's your name? Mine is Cloud Strife.'

The silver hair boy took the hand shook it as he said: 'Nice to meet you, my name is Kadaj Novia.'

_Kadaj Novia. That's interesting. _For some odd reasons, Cloud felt like he knew this kid, yet at the same time he felt kind of unsettled. _Maybe it's too hot right now._ He thought as he looked through the window where there are only red rocks and canyons, they have already entered one of the hottest regions of the world, Cosmo Canyon. Little did he knows, the heat was not coming from the natural dry land, but from the red orb he is wearing under his shirt.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.**

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A Summon, a Wish and a Dream

Three years after his depart from Nibelhiem, Cloud Strife had entered the army regular training program and today it's a very important day for him, because Shinra Inc. will announce to them who will be entering the Third Class SOLDIER program and who will need to spend more time as a regular Shinra guard for another three years of tough training before the next test. Cloud stood at the back of the room where every cadet around his age was waiting to receive their results.

'Nii-san!' Someone screamed and Cloud mentally groaned, bracing himself as he was jumped from behind by a silver hair boy. 'Nii-san! Why didn't you wait for in our room? You know that every room in this building is so big that it's hard for me to find you.'

'Kadaj, why do you keep calling me "brother" when I'm not even related to you?' The blond asked for the billionth time since he had been placed in the same room as Kadaj is. The boy had kept calling him Nii-san ever since then and had always been very protective over him.

'Because you are older and bigger than me, Nii-san.' Kadaj answered with a wide grin as he removed himself from the back of the blond.

'We're about the same age and size, so that doesn't count.' The spiky hair boy said as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the silver hair boy who stuck out his tongue playfully.

Then two officers, carrying lot of envelops in their arms, had entered the room and everyone fell silent, everyone holding their breaths as the officers called them out, giving them the results of their SOLDIER test. Kadaj had his envelop first, but he didn't open it, saying that he wants to find out the results with Cloud.

When the blond had his envelop, he quickly tore it open and took out the results, Kadaj doing the same thing next to him. Sapphire blue eyes scanned the paper and widen when they saw the phase: "_We're sorry to announce to you that you did not achieve the necessary marks to advance to Third Class._" Cloud folded the paper and quickly hided it in his pocket, his face was emotionless.

'Yahoo! I made it, Nii-san! I made it to the Third!' His silver hair companion shouted as he brandished his results in front of the silent blond.

'Great. Congratulation, Kadaj.' Cloud mumbled before he left the now noisy room with Kadaj staring at his back worriedly before a rather mischief smirk appeared on his face.

***

The young country boy took a sword and went into the forest next the vast deserted training ground. When he was sure he was far away from the eyes of unwanted guests, he let out his anger and started to cut the nearest tree, leaving dozen of scars on the skin, he continued like this till his arms started to arch. He slowly backed away, dropping his sword in the process, until his back was against another tree and slide down to the ground. He pulled his legs up to his chest and pressed his forehead against his knees as he silently cried. To add worst to his misery, it started to rain, the branches and the leaves of tree didn't shield the sad kid from the falling small drops of water.

The blond sat there unmoving in the rain, his spiky hair and uniform were damp, crying and cursing himself for his failures to achieve the Third Class rank, but also wishing that he might have a chance to become stronger. Suddenly Cloud couldn't feel the rain on him. He thought it had stopped raining, but he could still hear the dripping sound of the water and then he felt something heavy on his left shoulder. The boy looked up and saw a black wing hovering over his head and he turned to his left to see the most beautiful creature he had ever saw in his whole life which he had only heard of in the fairy-tales his mother told him.

It was an elegant phoenix with pure black feather and a few red ones near the neck wearing a silver dagger-shaped pendant, but what amazed him the most was those red-orange glowing eyes of the creature. _Why did it look so familiar?_ Cloud pounded the question for a minute, but when a certain accident at Mt. Nibel flashed through his mind, he stared at the bird in shock for second before he whispered: 'You're the _one_ who saved me and Tifa...'

After a few seconds, the boy snapped out his surprising shock and told the bird to leave him alone. The black bird nodded his head as he flew off of him, Cloud stared after it, but instead of leaving, it picked up the abandoned sword on the ground and threw it at the blond who caught before it might give him an unnecessary injury. Then it squawked at him and pointing the weapon in his hands with its beck, like telling him to be ready for some things, before three red generated swords appeared out of thin air and hurled towards the unprepared boy who got knocked back by the force of the attacks.

Cloud looked up just in time to dodge another strike, but he was thrown against another tree when he tried to defend himself from one of the generated swords. This process had continued for half an hour before anger started to boil in the blood of the boy and he felt a great energy surged through his body. With an extremely fast speed, he cut down all the swords that was hurling towards him in one slash.

The boy fell to his knees, feeling suddenly disoriented, tired and also surprised by his own sudden powerful strikes. The black phoenix flew to his side and pressed its forehead against his arm, a warm glowing green light enveloped him. When the light vanished, his body is no longer aching in pain and looked back at the beautiful creature.

'What are you?' Cloud asked the bird as it looked at him, he would have sworn he had just saw a smile on the creature. Before the bird could answered, the blond heard some ruffling sounds and someone shouting his name behind him, he turned around to see Kadaj emerged from behind some bushes and when he turned back, the mysterious phoenix was gone.

'Nii-san! I have been searching all over the place for you and you are mean to not have told me about this peaceful hiding spot!' The silver hair boy whined as he sat next to Cloud. 'Oh, and by the way, I'm off the Third Class list.'

'Huh? What? Why?' Cloud asked while Kadaj just continued to smile brightly.

'The instructors said that I'm too immature, because I had _accidentally_ set fire on some _important_ files, and that I need more disciplines, so they decided to put in the regular Shinra Army for now.' The blond scowled at the boy, knowing that Kadaj had done it _intentionally_, not _accidentally _as he claimed it to be.

'Kadaj did you set the fire on purpose?' The matured boy asked his friend who simply smile innocently at him. This caused him to let out a furious shriek. 'WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT? DON'T YOU KNOW YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET INTO SOLDIER AFTER THAT?!'

'Because I love you, Nii-san.' The silver hair boy answered and the heated anger of Cloud had suddenly dropped to below 20 degree as he stared surprisingly at his companion. Kadaj moved closer to him, wrapped his arms around his back and rested his head on his shoulder. 'I want to be close to you, Nii-san. You are the only one who I have ever been close to and I don't want to lose you because I get to go to Third Class. I want to stay with you, until you are promote too. I don't care what's going to happen to me, I just want to be with you.'

The statement had caused a bright red blush to creep over Cloud's face. _Does he know that he is more like confessing to me with a more lover-lover love than a brotherly love?_

'You are warm, Nii-san...' Kadaj mumbled under his breath and then everything went still and silent. The blond looked down at the peaceful features of the now sleeping silver hair boy, not even bothered to remove the boy from his body, because he is sure that the vice-like grip around him won't be peel off easily, so he decided to lay in a more comfortable position on the tree and wait until Kadaj wakes up. _Looks like another reason for me to become stronger. But where did the phoenix go?_

Soon Cloud fell asleep too and a strange orange glow emanated from the red orb, the light covered both his and Kadaj's bodies, protecting them from the cold rain and frosty wind while both of them dreamt of a magnificent field of yellow and white flowers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Hope all of you will enjoy this new chapter! Please review!**

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Your Heart

With new determinations and a new _friend_ by his side, Cloud trained himself with Kadaj for another three years in the Shinra Regular Army, but this time, it will be different, because he learned more than the other cadets in secret. The black phoenix had been visiting him each night when he is in the forest and helped him with his sword skills. Sometimes Cloud will just talk to it, telling his hometown and his dreams, while the bird simply listens to every one of his words.

Tonight, the 15-years-old blond went to the forest with two green materias, crystallized orbs made from the liquid Lifestream, slotted in his sword, since he never seemed to be able to activate them no matter how he had concentrated, he decided to ask for its help. When he arrived to his private training spot, he put his sword down and said: 'Moon! Where are you, Moon?'

Moon is the name Cloud gave to the black phoenix, since he had noticed it always seemed _sad_ whenever it looked up at the moon and the name suits it, because the bird is like his light in the darkest moments of his life, just like the moon that shines in a starless night.

When he turned around, the bird was perched on small branch of the tree where he had put down his weapon. The teen smiled brightly as he extended his hand towards it, Moon flew off of the tree and landed on his arm carefully, as if it is scared to harm the blond with its claw.

'Thanks for coming, Moon.' Cloud said as his fingers played with the pendant the bird was wearing, the blond chuckled a bit when he remembered the time he had scratched his feathers on its head and Moon had almost bitten all of his fingers off for doing that, ever since then he hadn't touched any of his feathers, but the small silver-dagger. The phoenix looked at him with a look that said "what's so funny?"

'Nothing.' The young teenager said as he used his other hand to muffle his giggles. 'Anyway, I need you to teach me how to use the materias. That is if you know how.'

Moon flew to his sword and pulled one of the materias out of the slots before it went back to side, giving it to him. Cloud took the green orb into his hands as the bird rested itself on his shoulder and nudged him with its wing.

'You want me to show you how bad I am?' The phoenix nodded his head which caused Cloud to roll his eyes. The bird acted just like Kadaj when he asked for the silver hair teen's help; show me how bad you are and then I'll explain it as simple as I can. _Oh well, at least Moon doesn't really talk, so I won't get any headaches for this one, unless he screeches._

Cloud closed his eyes as he concentrated on trying to activate the orb's power, but it had only glowed for a few second before it returned to a lifeless state. The blond reopened his eyes and let out a desperate sigh at his failed attempt to activate it before he said to Moon: 'See, I told you, I'm bad.'

The phoenix ignored him and placed his claws over the orb which immediately bursts into flame causing the blond to drop it in surprise. Luckily for Cloud, he was wearing gloves, so it had only burned the black leatherette material, he shot an angry glace at Moon who had caught the fire materia before it fell to the ground and mumbled: 'You could have at least warn me that you are going to demonstrate.'

The black bird had ignored him once again and in a blink of an eye, it held a tight grip on his wrist and placed the now enflaming materia on his hand again. Cloud closed his eyes and readied himself for scorching pain on his hand, but nothing happen.

He reopened his eyes and saw that the flames over the orb was not burning him or Moon's claw, but Moon won't get burn anyway, since it's a phoenix, a mythical creature that controls fires and born from the ashes. Cloud watched in amazement at the fire that doesn't harm either of them, he really envied his friend to have a perfect control over the materia and hoped he could too. Suddenly, Moon redrew his claw and the cadet had almost immediately panic, scared of being burn if the creature isn't in control of the power, but to his astonishment, the fire kept burning and he doesn't felt _anything_.

'How did-' Before he could completely uttered his question, Moon did another incredible demonstration. The bird flew off of his arm and the flames on the materia followed it, swirling around its wings, the bird flew into air and did a few spirals before it bent his burning wings for moment before it spread them wide and the fires shot five different directions, scorching each tree they hit.

Cloud simply stood there in shock at the display, he only snapped out his trance when the black phoenix switched the materia in his hand with the other one that had been in the slot of the sword since the demonstration and tossed it to him. He stared at the green orb in his hand a moment and then at the bird that is resting on the sword motioned him with its wing to try it.

The blond held the crystal orb in his hand tightly, closing his eyes and concentrated again, but just like before, it had only glowed for a few second before it lost the brightness again. When Cloud is about to give up, he opened his sapphire eyes just to see Moon over his right shoulder, his wings spread wide with their tips pressing gently on his wrist and left shoulder.

These light touches felt very strange, it almost had the same touch of a human hand, it's... Comforting... The blond almost laughed at his own idiocy, but he felt somehow safe and warm every time Moon was closed to him. _I wonder if this is what feels like when your father is beside you and help you whenever you fall? _The idea seemed rational, yet it doesn't seem to fit to what he is feeling right now. _Why?_

The thought of a father makes him think of his mother, in Nibelhiem, waiting for him to return with pride and maybe with a friend. With his eyes closed, he could perfectly imagine the face his mother will make when she saw Moon and Kadaj with him at the doorsteps. Cloud could even picture the happiness of the four of them together as a family, the three of them playing with the snow like kids and getting scowl by Rayne about how messy they were, cover in snow. _That would _definitely _be wonderful._

Suddenly he felt a small nudge on his neck. He quickly snapped his eyes open and sapphire orb almost widen instantly when he saw the trees around him are completely covered in ice and the ground seemed to be frozen as well.

'Oh Gaia. Did I really do this?' Cloud asked as he stared incredulously at his surrounding. Not believing that he really turned half of the trees around him into ice. Moon nodded his head and used his claw to point at his heart. 'You mean, the way to control a materia, it's not by using my mind, but my heart?'

The black phoenix nodded his head again and this knowledge had explained part of the things the blond couldn't understand. _So that's why I wasn't able to activate its magic, because I was only thinking about making it work, but not trying on letting my heart draws its power out._

Cloud looked at his feather friend and said with a bright smile: 'Thank you, for everything...'

'NII-SAN!' A soft voice yelled. The spiky hair teen turned around to spot something silver among the dark green bushes and when he looked back at Moon, it had already disappeared in the dark night.

'I'm here Kadaj!' Cloud called out as he walked towards the bushes and pushed some of them away to reveal a sliver hair teen.

'Nii-san. I was looking for you to see if you need help for the- Oh Gaia!' Kadaj shouted as he stared at the frozen trees in shock, his mouth gaping like a fish as he pointed at them.

'I didn't do it without help of course.' The blond answered the unasked question as he put the materias back into their slots of the sword.

'That person is me right?' The silver hair teen asked with a wide grin which Cloud returned with a small smile.

'Maybe.' He said as he took the small path that leads out of the forest towards the building with Kadaj behind him, shouting "Is it me or not?"

***

'Nii-san, I'm sure you are going to pass this test as easy as pie.' Kadaj said as he stepped out the forest with a still-not-very-confidant Cloud next to him. The blond wasn't really sure he could perform as well as he did back among the trees with Moon.

Suddenly a monstrous cry vibrated in the air, both teens jumped in surprise. Cloud looked around to see where that horrible sound came from, but it is hard for him to see through the dark night with only the faint light coming from the building. Then Kadaj fell to his knees whimpering with his hand covering his ears, Cloud had never saw the silver hair teen acting like this before when confronting a monster, he knelt down and put his hand over the quivering shoulder, asking as softly and as calm as he could: 'What's wrong Kadaj?'

'Nii-san... The noises... It... Hurts... Make them stop... Please...' Kadaj begged with his eyes clamped shut and tears running down his cheeks. He looked like he's in deep pain. The blond gave a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and whispering comforting words to the quivering boy, looking up whenever he heard the beastly cry which is sounding closer gradually.

'Kadaj listens to me.' Cloud placed his hand the silver hair teen's cheek and turned his face towards him, looking deep into those now unfocused green eyes. 'We have to leave now, it's not safe here. I promise I'm going to make the noises stop, but you have to help me, ok?'

Kadaj nodded his head. The blond immediately pulled the shaking teen up and walked as fast as they could, but the roaring sound isn't helping very much for their progress, because Kadaj flinched in his steps every time the loud sound echoed in the night and Cloud needed to hold him closely to be able to continue their way towards the building. _Almost there. We're almost there. It's going to be fine soon, I promise Kadaj._

When the building's doors became visible for his blue eyes, Cloud let a mental relieved sigh, but his relief was cut short when a piercing shriek came from behind them. The blond turned around to see a black scaly skin creature with a dragon-like grey head.

'SHIT!' Cloud cursed when he saw three other creatures joined the first one and four more coming from behind. He quickly dashed towards the building and pulled the rather disoriented silver hair teen with him. _Please let us make it! Please let us make it! Please let us make it!_

The blond had completely underestimated the beasts' speed. When he risked looking back, one of them was jumping towards them with its sharp fangs and claws ready to tear them apart. Before he could do anything, the red orb he wore around his neck shone brightly and something shot out of the jewel, knocking the monster back towards the group behind it.

'_**Get out of here Cloud!**_' A distorted voice yelled above the two teens. Cloud looked up and his eyes widen in surprised.

'MOON?!' Cloud shouted in disbelieve as the black phoenix flying above them sent dozen of red generated blade towards the monsters.

'_**Get going now! While I hold them back!**_' Moon cried out, looking down at the blond.

'YOU CAN TALK?!' The spiky hair teen asked loudly as the phoenix sent three fireballs at the black monsters, burning two of them into ashes.

'_**We could discuss this topic later! Now go!**_' The blond was about to protest, but the small tug on his arm reminded him that Kadaj is with him and the trembling teen is defenseless in his current states.

'Ok, but be careful!' Cloud yelled as he continued his way towards the Shinra Inc. building with Kadaj, but when they were only a few steps away from the glass doors, there was loud crashing behind them and an alarm rang through the air.

'**Enemy Alert! Emergency lock down!**' A computerized voice announced and an iron grid dropped down, sealing the main doors and probably every entrance that could allow the two cadets to get in.

***

Meanwhile high inside the Shinra building, in the virtual training room of the 49th floor, three men stood on a stimulation of a giant canon pointing at the ocean. The one who stood with his back facing the sea wore a black leather coat and had waist-length silver hair with cat-like green eyes looking at the adversary in front of him, a young man with shoulder-length auburn hair, bright blue eyes and a single silver dagger-like earring on his left ear in a scarlet coat holding a glowing red swords. Behind them was a man with short black hair with an enormous broad sword on his back and a smaller one in his hand watched the other two.

'That laxness of yours, how long do you think you can keep it up?' The man in complete crimson asked casually before he lunged towards the silver hair man, but suddenly the holographic stimulation around them dissolved and an alarm rang inside the room.

Then three ringing tone echoed at the same time inside the room, the three men took out three identical cell phones from their pockets and flipped them opened.

'Report!' They said together ignoring the annoying alarm.

'_Security had spotted several unknown black creatures outside the main entrances fighting, we do not have any data on them, and so we call you to capture the creatures, if possible, _**alive**_._' The person in the end of their line explained briefly. 'Sephiroth and Genesis will go to the mains entrances and confront the enemies. Angeal you'll stand by inside the building, in case one of them got inside, understand?'

'Roger!' They answered as they left the virtual room.

***

The spiky hair teen fumed and cursed under his breath as he looked around to find another place where they could be safe, but all he saw was dead ends. He turned back to scream for help, but he didn't when he saw Moon being clawed by one of the monsters, black feathers fell to the ground without the slightest stain of blood. _No, I can't ask Moon to help me this time. I must find a solution myself._

'Nii-san... Ugh...' Kadaj groaned as he fell to his knees with his hand still holding the teen's blue uniform tightly. Cloud caught him by the waist and knelt down as he stared at his unconscious friend worriedly. He hated it! He hated being useless! He hated to see people getting hurt! A terrible roar caught his attention. The blond looked up to see a beast running towards them, his grip on his sword tighten as the slotted materias glowed brightly.

_I won't allow you. _Cloud lifted the sword up. _None of you._ His other hand held Kadaj closely. _To harm those. _The sword glowed brightly as hot burning fire and icy cold frost swirled around the blade. _I CARE FOR DEEPLY! _He slashed his blade downward and unleashed a powerful energy wave towards the monster which instantly annihilated it and three others behind it along with half of the ground. A small smile plastered on his face as he fell to the ground with his arm around Kadaj protectively as his eyelids slowly closed. _I did it... I have protected you..._

The remaining creatures were stabbed by the generated swords of Moon. The black phoenix turned his attention to the teens on the ground and landed next to them, Moon was about to use his healing power on them, but when it sensed the coming presences of two powerful people and it decided to return to the red orb for now.

'_**You did well Cloud...**_' Moon said as it pressed his black wing against the spiky hair of the blond before his body turned into red threads of light and was absorbed by the necklace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Hope you'll enjoy this new chapter! Please review!**

* * *

Good News or Bad News?

Beep... Beep... Beep...

The sound is annoying, _very_ annoying. Kadaj reached out his hand to shut the stupid alarm clock off, but he couldn't find any button. He let a frustrated groan and opened his tired eyes to smash the worst invention in the entire world to bits, but seeing what he was about to smash isn't the clock, he stopped his strike in mid-air and he stared blankly at a heartbeat monitor.

He looked around and noticed he isn't in his bunker with Nii-san. The thought about not being close to the blond scared him, so he quickly jumped off of his bed, pulling off the needles on his arm and left the room as quietly as he could.

When he is in the corridor, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his sixth sense to search for his Nii-san. It's strange for him that he had this power to find the blond so easily, but whenever the blond was among nature, like the trees, he could barely catch his presence, as if the planet was shielding the blond from him.

_Ah, found you!_ Kadaj thought happily when he sensed Cloud's presence in the last room of the corridor on his left. He quickly ran towards the room and entered silently. The silver-hair boy looked at the sleeping blond on the bed and smiled brightly as he closed the door gently before he sat on a chair next to Cloud.

The silver hair teen carefully placed his hand over Cloud's and rested his forehead over them. _Don't ever leave alone Nii-san... Stay with me... Always and forever..._ Kadaj thought as he fell asleep.

***

While the two cadets are sleeping, a few floors below them, someone was in extremely foul mood. Professor Hojo, a middle-age man with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail wearing a small pair round glass, shouting dozen of curses at the scientist who are in charge of the health maintenance of the cadets.

'WHY DID NONE OF YOU FOULS CALLED ME WHEN YOU SAW THAT BOY'S PROFILE? YOU BLUTERING FOOLS!' The mad scientist yelled as he slammed down the file clipped with the photo of a young silver hair boy with a smug on his face. 'EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!'

'W-we just th-thought he blea-bleached his hair to just lo-look like General Sephiroth...' A frighten female scientist tried to explain, she immediately ducked under the table to dodge a flying book.

'BLEACHED HIS HAIR? DON'T YOU IDIOTS HAD EVER THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE HIS NATUAL HAIR COLOR!' Hojo shrieked as he threw everything on his table at the scientists who bent down or hide behind something to block the dangerous projectiles.

This could have continued for another hour and a half, but the professor knew he had to act quickly before a certain General gets into his way. He is very interested by the _appearances_ of this cadet, who looked just like when Sephiroth was younger, except he had shorter hair.

'WHERE IS THE BOY NOW?' He barked out his question and stared evilly at the trembling men and woman of science.

***

_**Wake up... Cloud, wake up...**_

_Huh? Cloud found himself floating in the Lifestreams where glowing green threads turned and twisted around him._

_**Cloud you need to wake up, **_**He**_** is coming...**_

_Who? The blond asked and a glowing green orb appeared before him._

_**An enemy of the planet...**_

_What? Who are you? The orb started to glow brighter, which forced Cloud to use his hand to cover his eyes, but the light is so strong that he could make out the shadow a man with spiky short hair._

_**I'm...**_

Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...

Cloud woke up sweat dropping, looking around him confusingly and wondering where did the man had gone, but when he saw the machines on his right side, he knew he was in Shinra's infirmary and not in the Lifestreams.

He was about to get up, but he stopped when he felt his left hand very numb, the blond looked down to see a peaceful silver hair teen sleeping next to him and holding his hand tightly, just like a child who was worry about his parent's health. Cloud hesitantly placed his hand over the soft silky hair of Kadaj and ran his fingers through it. _It feels... Nice..._

Sometimes he felt like Kadaj is acting a little too overprotective over him whenever he got bullied by some other grunts and it is kind of annoying the way he yelled at them, like he was part of his property or something, but then again, Kadaj is just Kadaj, he just doesn't want people to hurt what he holds dearly to his heart. After all, he is still just a kid in his mind.

He continued this action until the silver hair teen purred against his hand which the spiky hair boy had quickly withdrawn. Kadaj looked up at him with sleepy eyes and pouted: 'Nii-san, you don't need to stop you know, it feels pretty good.'

'Sorry, I -' Cloud quickly sat up and was about to explain for his strange actions, but he was cut off by a pair of soft lips pressed against his. Kadaj kissed him chastely before he pulled back and stared at him with an innocent look.

'Now you are forgiven Nii-san!' The young boy announced happily as he hugged a stupefied Cloud.

'Idiot.' The blond muttered under his breath as he turned his head away to hide his bright red blush. Kadaj released him from his hug to stick out his tongue playfully and giggled. 'How are you feeling?'

'Huh? What do you mean Nii-san? I'm feeling perfectly fine right now.' Kadaj told Cloud who is looking at him doubtfully.

'Don't you remember? When we were attacked by those _things_, you looked like your head is hurting you painfully.' Cloud asked worriedly.

The silver hair boy smiled brightly and said sheepishly: 'Oh that. With Nii-san close to me, it doesn't hurt anymore!'

The blond rolled his eyes in annoyance and then they heard a soft knock on the door, the teens turned their attentions towards the entrance just in time to see a man with short black hair came in with a young man who short spiky black hair.

'Cadet Strife and Novia?' The man asked as Cloud and Kadaj nodded at the same time. 'My name is Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER 1st Class. And he is my protégé, Zack Fair, SOLDIER 2nd Class.'

'Hi there!' The young man greeted them cheerfully.

_Great, another Kadaj._ Cloud thought sarcastically while studying Zack from head to toe with his big blue eyes before he turned his towards the older man and asked: 'Is something wrong, sir?'

'It's nothing very important, but Director Lazard asked me to tell both of you a little news, that's all.' Angeal explained gently.

Suddenly Kadaj's eyes narrowed and stood protectively in front of Cloud like shielding him from being attack by something. The blond and the two other occupants of the room looked at the silver hair teen in shock. Cloud, who being with Kadaj for more than six years, knew that his friend only reacted this way whenever he felt somebody was staring or throwing death glares at them, so he looked over Kadaj's side to see who is staring at them.

At the door, stood the man that all Shinra Inc. employers and SOLDIERs hate, Professor Hojo, smirking at them evilly. _No wonder Kadaj reacted so fast. This guy's evil chart had definitely broken the record._

'Cadet Novia, the little copy of Sephiroth, I presume?' Hojo asked snickering as he entered the room. Now its Cloud's turn to narrow his eyes dangerously, because he doesn't mind what others thinks about him, but he won't allow someone as creepy as the professor to say some bad things about Kadaj.

'His name is Kadaj Novia, _sir_.' The spiky hair blond replied coldly at the professor's question. Hojo turned his head and glared at the blond angrily which Cloud countered with one of his own.

Then someone cleared his throat behind the professor, both glarer looked up at the newcomers standing at the doorframe. The great General Sephiroth and Commander Genesis Rhapsodos stared with a slight interest in their eyes at the glaring contest they had just witness.

'Professor Hojo, may I inquire what are you doing here, instead of in your laboratory?' The silver hair General asked calmly.

'I think as the Director of the Science Department, I had the right to visit _any_ of the patients in the Infirmary.' Hojo answered turning around to face the General.

Kadaj was about to jump on the professor and beats him badly, but Cloud caught his wrist and held it tightly, looking into those green eyes, telling him to not act harshly. So the silver hair teen simply said: 'If you don't mind, _Professor_. Nii-san would want to rest right now, so could _you_ visit later.'

'Nii-san?' The scientist repeated as he adjusted his glass and studied both teens intensely. 'Both of you don't bore any similarities to each other.'

'We are not related by blood.' Cloud explained with a hint of anger in his voice, for some unknown reasons, he felt very, very angry right now. This man, Hojo, presence made his body reacted violently. As if he had killed every single people he loved and cared the most in the world. 'But for me, he is and always will be a brother to me. Consider it as related by spirit.'

When Hojo was about to countered the words of the blond with scientific term, Sephiroth told the man that there is some problems in labs and that he had been asked to tell him to get back to the labs to sort the problems.

The scientist left the room grumbling under his breath. Cloud released his hold on Kadaj's wrist and let out a sigh of relief, while Kadaj asked to no one in particular what the problem with the mad scientist is.

'Let's just say, he is bad news.' Zack answered plainly.

'Angeal have you told them the news yet?' Genesis asked a little impatiently.

'I was about to, if Hojo didn't got in and caused a mess.' The black hair SOLDIER 1st Class answered.

'What news?' Cloud asked with a hint of worry in his voice, even though he tried to hide it. _Please don't tell me that I could pack my stuff and leave Midgar._

'Well, Cadet Strife and Cadet Novia. I'm proudly announcing to both of you that you are now officially new Third Class SOLDIER!' Zack announced dramatically.

'What?' The blond asked puzzlingly.

'Really?' The silver hair adolescent asked excitedly. When the spiky black hair SOLDIER nodded his head, Kadaj immediately jumped onto the shocked blond and hugged him tightly as he chant "We did it! We did it! We did it!"

'KADAJ! GET OFF OF ME!' Cloud shouted as he tried pulled away the vice-grip arms over him and his blush was ten time redder the one he had a few minutes ago.

The other occupants of the room, except Sephiroth, chuckled at the same time, Angeal and Zack covered their little laugh with their gloved hands, Genesis simply turned his head away and let his long auburn locks covered his smirk, while the General stared at them with a questioning look that said what's-so-funny?

'I think we all get an idea what you might look like when you are a little younger.' Angeal explained quickly before he put his hand over his mouth again to muffle his chuckles.

Sephiroth looked at his fellow SOLDIERs and then at the struggling teens for a moment before he rolled his eyes and knew that at this very moment, that this boy, who resembles him, harassing another boy will the best joke for at least three years.

***

After the four SOLDIER and Kadaj, who had been drag out of his room by a rather irritated Sephiroth, left Cloud alone in his small ward, the blond let out a relieved sigh as he pulled out the red jewel around his neck and whispered: 'Moon?'

No answer and the crystal orb did not show a slight gleam. Cloud let out another sigh as he laid himself back on his bed. _I must have been seeing things. Moon can't be inside the necklace. He had probably jumped out of the forest, instead of bursting out of the orb. What the hell are you thinking Cloud Strife?_

_**You know talking to yourself is a first symptom of insanity.**_ A distorted voice whispered near the boy's ears, which he knew that belongs to Moon. Cloud jumped up on his bed and looked around him frenetically, trying to find the source of the voice. _**Down here.**_

_Huh? What?_ The blond looked down to see his necklace glowed faintly. _Moon? Is it really you? You really talk?_

_**Yes, I can. I have always been able to.**_ The reply flared up the anger of the cadet. _**But some of my powers are still sealed. I have only got my voice back a while ago.**_

_Your powers are sealed? You mean you are like the summon creatures the instructors talk about?_

_**In a certain way, but unlike them, I can't grow more powerful. Whenever you got stronger, you will break some of the seals on this materia and unlock some of my strength.**_

_Oh... I'm sorry..._ Cloud closed his eyes and thought back every single day he had spent with the other cadets, he was always the weakest among them, all of them could easily beat him up, if it wasn't because of Kadaj's protectiveness, he might have to visit the ward more often. Gaia, he hate being weak.

'"_**Wishing for tomorrow... My soul shatters. My pride is broke. My wing is broken. I am no longer able to fly..."'**_ While listening to the strange sentence that Moon is quoting, Cloud felt the phoenix claws over his left shoulder and opened his eyes to see a wide-spread black wing with some of its feathers torn and tainted with small dry blood. _**'Pain is something that every living thing on Gaia will feel one day or another, if you keep lingering on one single wound, you'll only be trying to ignore the other injuries and they will become infected and you'll be having more pain than you could endure.'**_

The young boy clenched his hand into fist as he struggled to hold back his tears and whispered: 'I'm sorry, I'm really sorry...'

The black phoenix wrapped its wings around the blond protectively, as if it is trying to shield him from every terrible and painful thing in the world, and whispered soft words to him: '_**So let it go, leave your painful wound alone. Even if it will make scars that won't fade, at least they will no longer hurt...**_'

Maybe Moon was right, he should let go of his miserable past and move on. Cloud lifted his hand up and rubbed his watery eyes before he looked at the elegant bird with a bright smile, a smile without weariness or sadness anymore, just a carefree smile. _Thank you Moon, or do you have another name?_

Moon shook his head lightly. _**My name holds no longer much importance to me and beside, I like the name you gave me... It's better than my true name...**_

Upon hearing the sad tone in his winged friend, Cloud carefully reached for the injured wing with his hands and pulled it against him, burying his face in the soft feathers. _Then let's heal our wounds together... So we could move on..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters. Hope you will enjoy this new chapter! Please review!**

* * *

No pain, No gain

'NO! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!' A fat man with long black thick beard and hair in a green suit yelled at the phone in his hand and slammed his other hand on his table, causing half of the papers and pens on it fell to the red carpet floor. 'THOSE TWO ARE THE MOST PATHETIC RECRUITS IN ALL OF SHINRA'S HISTORY! STIFE IS COMPLETELY USELESS IN THE FIELD AND HE COULDN'T EVEN ACTIVATE A SINGLE MATERIA! NOVE IS THE DEVIL INCARNATED HIMSELF!'

'_It's Strife and Novia, Heidegger. Did you not see the videotape I have sent to you a few hours ago? Cloud Strife showed incredible strength and power in the use of materias and according to the database, Kadaj Novia was also very potential in materia and swordplay._' Heidegger, the head of the Public Safety who had control in both the Shinra Army and police force, grumbled under his breath as the man on the side of the line continued.'_They are perfect SOLDIER materials and yet you refuse to let them enter SOLDIER... What is your motive behind this, Heidegger?_'

Of course he had seen that videotape, more than once, and it is utterly impossible that a backwater country boy like Stife could have created a devastating blow with the materias like that, only the great General Sephiroth could that. Nove had his chance to get into the Third Class, but he simply blew it. There's never a second chance in his department _ever_.

'WHATEVER YOU SAID WON'T CHANGE MY MIND, UNLESS YOU CAN SHOW ME THAT THEY ARE BOTH COMPETENT ENOUGH TO JOIN YOUR GODDAMN DEPARTMENT WITH MY OWN TWO GREAT EYES OR I'LL NEVER HAND THEM OVER!' Heidegger growled before he slammed his phone on the table, crushing it into million pieces. He will never _ever_ let those two pathetic idiots get into SOLDIER and he will make sure of that.

***

Lazard Deuserius, Director of the SOLDIER Department, a blond hair man who wore a blue suit with white lines and had white gloves, slowly closed his cell phone as he pinched the bridge over his nose for a moment. Having another session with Heidegger today was a mistake, because the shouts over his ear more than twice had doubled his headache. Not that he was asking for it, but Sephiroth had recommended these two recruits to him personally and wanted them in the SOLDIER program as fast as possible.

From what he saw from the security camera, the blond hair cadet had certainly some skills and guts. So does the young look-alike of Sephirtoh from what he had gathered from the database. They will most definitely become more useful on his side than on Heidegger's.

The only problem is that the head of the Public Safety, who is believed to be an idiot by some of the higher rank members, refused to hand over Strife and Novia, _unless_ he can prove to him, under his puny eyes, that they belong in SOLDIER.

_How can you make one arrogant and pig-headed idiot who always refused to believe the truth even when the clear evidence is right under his stupid eye balls? _Lazard thought as he leant back against his chair and stared at the platinum ceiling above him, deep in thought. He had been through worse problem to get to this position, since he had lived in the slum, where people would steal and even kill for living. The Director was so in deep thought that he didn't hear the hissing sound of the electric doors in his office.

'Mission accomplishes. Director Lazard.' A soft voice said and Lazard jerked in surprise, but he let out a sigh of relieve when he saw that the one who entered his room is not the General, but Commander Rhapsodos, places some files on his desk.

'Eh- Good job, Genesis. A very good job indeed.' The blond man said almost distantly as he stared at the files that Genesis had put on his desk as if he tried to see something that's too far for his eyes to spot it.

'You looked tired.' The auburn hair SOLDIER pointed out as he headed towards the doors. 'You should ask someone to help you with these files, since you shouldn't trust what you see when your eyes are tired.'

_Don't trust your own eyes... Someone to help... Wait a minute... That's it!_ Lazard thought as he got up and made a call to his secretary. _Now, Heidegger won't have any excuse to not hand over Strife and Novia!_

***

Being stuck in the Infirmary was the worst thing in the whole wide world, because there is a high chance that we easily get bored to death, which is the case for the young cadet Cloud Strife. He is going to die sooner or later if they kept him inside these white walls for another day longer, but he is not in terrible shape as Kadaj is, because he doesn't need two big bodyguards standing outside his door to make sure that he doesn't sneak outside. Almost every day, morning to night, he could hear the silver hair teen making loud and annoying complaints, even though they were only separated by three rooms. Only one thing is sure for both of them, death will greet them soon enough if they can't leave their rooms to at least stretch their stiffed legs a little bit, lying on the bed all day long and doing nothing is not very comfortable for either of them.

_**You know you don't need to think so loud in your head, I can hear your complaints even when I'm not inside your mind.**_ A distorted voice spoke in Cloud's mind. The spiky hair teen had almost forgotten that he had his bird companion with him.

_It's not like I want to talk so loud in my head, but someone else is already doing it verbally outside and I don't want to join the loony squad._ The blond replied mentally as he took the red orb in his fingers.

_**Well, why don't you practice your inter-connection with your Inner-Lifestreams?**_ Moon suggested. The inter-connection with the Inner-Lifestreams was a skill that the phoenix was teaching to the young cadet, it's a skill that allows a person to merge part of his own Lifestreams with the ones in the materias, so the magic could be more easily access or even develop within the person. So far Cloud had been trying to tap into his own Lifestreams several times and it was just like having a treasure chest with a dozen of keys in front of him, but he couldn't find the right one to open it.

_Oh well, I have nothing to do anyway. _Cloud thought as he sat up cross-legged, closing his blue eyes and relaxed as much of his muscles as he could. Then he could see the glowing green threads of the Lifestreams around him just like the last time he had tried to connect with his own.

_**Don't try to look for it. Let the Lifestreams guides you to it.**_ The blond could hear the soft whisper of the black phoenix near his ears, even though he couldn't see him, Cloud could always feel the close warm presence of Moon next to him.

_It's so warm._ As soon as these words left his mind, the Lifestreams started to swirl around him and clung to him like sticky cobwebs, some of them merged together and formed small glowing orb, floating in front of him. The orb grew bigger and brighter as more of the Lifestreams merged with it, Cloud stretched out his hand hesitantly towards the might-be-his-Inner-Lifestreams, but a sudden horrible shriek caused him to jump back in surprise and something hard hit his from behind.

In matter of seconds, the spiky hair patient found himself on the floor of his own ward and a small bump on the back of his head. He rubbed his new throbbing injury while cursing mentally to whomever or whatever had been making that stupid shriek at the exact moment he had _finally_ found his own Inner-Lifestreams.

When he got up, somebody had knocked on his door and he told the person to come in, half expecting it to be the doctor for his usual check-up and all, but the man who entered his room was not the doctor, he wore a helmet and a red SOLDIER uniform.

'Former-cadet Strife, right?' The man asked with a hint of humor in his voice and Cloud nodded his head dumbly. 'My name is Kunsel, SOLDIER 2nd Class, my friend, Zack, had asked me to come and bring you to the level 49's training room. He said it's urgent. So get up and change yourself while I take a little visit with the _little devil_.'

Cloud chuckled at the word _little devil_ as Kunsel left the room, because he is sure in one hundred percent that the man is referring to Kadaj. _The name fits him pretty well, Kadaj, the Little Devil and Sephiroth, the Demon who had slathered Wutai most powerful warriors._ The blond thought as he got up and changed into his uniform.

Cloud's cheerful mood soon turned into a panic heart-attack when he, Kadaj and Kunsel stepped into the training room where the three famous SOLDIERs 1st Class, the raven-haired SOLDIER 2nd Class, the Director of SOLDIER and the head of the Safety Department are waiting patiently for them. _Oh I have a bad feeling about this..._

Lazard cleared his throat before he spoke seriously: 'Cadet Strife and Cadet Novia, Head of the Safety Department told me that none of you are qualified to enter the SOLDIER program, so I have to ask both of you to demonstrate your abilities and prove to _me_ that you are good enough or not to join SOLDIER.'

The only thought that went through the teens' heads was: _Oh, crap._

***

'**Your mission is very simple: both of you only need to eliminate every enemy that the stimulation throws at you in a limit time.**' Lazard said through the radio attached to the black visors that both cadets wore for the demonstration. '**We will begin the battle stimulation in ten seconds, are you two ready?**'

'YES SIR!' They answered at the same time. Cloud tighten his grip over the handle of his sword that is equipped with the same materias he had used to beat the black beast, he doesn't why, but he felt more comfortable using the Ice and Fire materias, it's as if they were a part of him. The blond glanced at the silver hair teen out of the corner of his eyes, Kadaj, who was holding a short katana with the Thunder and Cure materias attached to it, looked a little bored.

_**Confidence. Remember Cloud?**_ Moon whispered to him as the countdown for the virtual stimulation began.

_That would be overconfidence for his case, Moon._ Cloud replied as they got into their battle stances. The black phoenix chuckled at the back of his mind. _**You just have to relax, let your instincts guide you and the rest will come naturally.**_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it. _The blond replied annoyingly, hating to be remind of what to do whenever he is in a battle, as the virtual room turned into a full-fledge forest and the ground was covered with a thin layer of white snow. _Nibelhiem?_ Then ten grey-furred wolves jumped out of the forest and snarled at the pair.

'Looks like we are going to have more company, Nii-san.' Kadaj said as they pressed back against back with their weapons readied in their hands and twenty wolves more came to surround them. 'If you need my help, just shout my name and I'll come to your rescue.'

Cloud snorted angrily as he protested loudly: 'I DON'T NEED **YOU** TO COME TO RESCUE **ME**, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE **ME** WHO'S GOING TO RESCUE **YOU**!'

_Sheesh that Kadaj is getting a little too over himself!_ The spiky hair cadet shrieked in his head as he vented some of his frustrations on one unfortunate Nibel wolf, burning it into black charcoal. It was only after he had decimated his 15th wolf that he is calmer.

'NII-SAN! WATCH OUT!' Cloud heard Kadaj screamed somewhere behind him. When he turned around, something struck him hard on the stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending him to the hard rocky ground. 'NII-SAN! WHY YOU BASTARD!'

The blond rolled over to his side and coughed out some blood and he looked up disoriented, seeing everything in double. He could easily make out the blurry silver hair of Kadaj and some giant purpled being that had supposedly hit him. He shook his head a little bit, to clear his dizziness, but instead of clearing it, it only got worse and half of his vision turned red. _What the? _Cloud touched his forehead and looked at his gloved hand covered with fresh crimson blood.

A loud roar snapped his attention from his bloody injuries back to the beast that Kadaj might be fighting, when he looked up, he spotted the silver hair teen cutting the beast into half while another one coming from his left side, the blond immediately yelled out the teen's name. His friend turned around upon hearing his name, but he didn't saw the other monster charging towards him and got tackled down by it. Cloud's eyes widen as he saw Kadaj, laid face down on the ground unmoving with some of blood over his silver hair.

_No... No... No... Get up Kadaj!_ The spiky hair cadet shouted inside his mind as he struggled to get back up, but his entire body seemed to weight a thousand pounds and he felt so tired right now. _No... I have to save Kadaj... _Using his sword as support, the blond slowly pushed himself up enough to stand on his two trembling feet, but when he tried to take one step, his foot didn't respond and his vision started to black out. _Damn it! Move!_

Suddenly everything around brighten and the shadow he had saw in the Lifestreams appeared in front of him, but his spiky hair seemed longer than before. When he spoke, the man still had a young voice, but it sounded slightly different, more cheerful and familiar: '_So you want to be in SOLDIER? Work hard kid._'

Cloud felt his body's strength returned to him and a great surge of energy is running through his veins. He held his sword in fighting stance as he activated the powers of his two materias and his vision came back into focus. The two purple forms of the beasts that had attacked him and Kadaj were more defined than before, the beasts are known as Behemoths that had two long bull-like horns and had a very hard skin, they are almost immune to magic and small physical attacks. He slashed his sword downward and created a powerful wave of fire and ice towards the beast that is about to finish off the unconscious teen, instantly killing it, then Cloud dashed forward and held Kadaj in his arms.

'Kadaj?' He whispered the name softly, when the silver hair boy didn't respond, he took the Cure materia slotted in the katana and cast a healing spell over him and Kadaj. A green light covered their entire bodies for a moment and all their wounds were immediately mended.

When Kadaj stirred in his arms and finally opened his eyes, Cloud sighed in relief as he said: 'See, I told you it will be _me_ who's going to rescue _you_.'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know.' The silver hair teen groaned as he sat up and rubbed his forehead, grumbling something incomprehensible, probably some small curses, but the mature blond doesn't really mind, because Kadaj cursing means he is perfectly fine. Cloud quickly got up and offered his hand to the healed teen with a smile, which Kadaj took the gloved hand in a firm grip before the blond pulled him up easily.

A loud and almost angry growl snapped both teens back to the reality and the fact that they aren't really safe _yet_. A sapphire armored dragon floating a few feet above the ground, its golden eyes flashed with fury at them and then it opened its mouth wide, where a large amount of energy started to gather around.

The two cadets stole a glance at each other for a second before they jumped up with the weapons infused with the element power of the materias. They slashed down in synch as the dragon released the energy beam in his mouth, but the beam and the powerful elements canceled each other out, leaving the dragon wide open to be cut down by the cadets. Cloud and Kadaj cross-slashed the face of the armored dragon before everything went suddenly black.

When the lights went back on, Cloud was breathing hard and he is on his knees with Kadaj next to him, the visors they were wearing showed "Mission Abort", he looked at Kadaj and asked: 'You're alright?'

The silver hair teen simply nodded his head in response before they could the electric hissing sound of the door, both of them looked up to see Lazard, Zack and Kunsel came in worriedly as the other superiors entered the room.

'Are you two alright?' Kunsel asked as he helped Kadaj up to his feet, Zack did the same for Cloud.

'I'm fine thanks to Nii-san.' Kadaj replied as he removed his visor.

'Well, from what I see, I think both of you did an extremely great job and welcome to SOLDIER!' The blond hair Director announced rather cheerfully, even though the cadets had just barely escaped Death's grip. While Heidegger cursed loudly as he stormed out of the room, the two teens were congratulated by the SOLDIERs.

Cloud silently whispered a thank you in his mind and he allowed himself to smile when he felt the warm non-visible wings of Moon enveloped him, but unknown to him is that an auburn hair Commander had saw them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

Nightmare

A few weeks had already passed since the special promotion to the Third Class for Cloud Strife and Kadaj Novia, everyone in the building continued their daily routine, but somebody under the Shinra Inc. building was having some extra works than others.

In a room filled with small monitors and computers screens, Hojo was replaying again and again the footage of the silver hair cadet fighting a giant Behemoth with only a thin katana and wrote down some notes before he moved to another screen where the spiky blond hair cadet infused his sword with the power of Fire and Ice materia. The professor was beyond excited, he couldn't believe his luck to find two such rare specimens by simply hacking into the computer main frame of the virtual room and changed the level of training of a Third into a First, but what made him happier than anything, it's what the computer next to him was showing him: the vitals readings of a strange life form named JENOVA.

For years of researches, the mad scientist watched the life of the alien humanoid ever slowly slipping away, but six years ago, the dying life form was having some life once again and a few weeks ago, it was strong enough to send some kind of signal from the abandoned Reactor in Nibelheim to here, Midgar.

'Oh, She is searching for her son or _sons_. Who will be her favorite?' The evil doctor whispered gleefully as he rubbed his hand in anxious and eyed the screen where showed the data of Kadaj. 'Oh, I so love family problems.'

When Hojo heard the beeping sound of one of the computers, he almost jumped around like a kid who had ate too much sugar, he opened the file that had been sent to him and ran down the list till he arrived at the name Novia and then he quickly opened the report and scanned its contents: _No Mako rejections symptoms. Absorbing Mako as fast as a First Class Soldier. _

Then he looked into Cloud Strife's Mako injection report and its contents were the same as Kadaj's, no rejections and absorbed the blood of the Planet like he had been taking it for his whole life.

_Oh, the Reunion is finally coming._ Hojo thought as he put the files of the two cadets to his own personal folder before he sent the rest of the file back to the computer main frame of Shinra. _All it needs is a little push._

***

At night, outside the building of Shinra, in the small forest, Cloud is running blindfolded with a sword in his hand among the trees and bushes as three red generated swords shot out of the dark green leaves. The blond dodged the first two and cut down the last one.

Before the spiky hair SOLDIER 3rd Class could relax, a dozen of generated swords fell from above him, but he evaded them just in time by jumping as high and as far as he could. Then three fireballs were thrown at him and he created a thick ice wall in front of him to block the fiery attacks as he landed on the ground which suddenly exploded and threw on him on his back with his weapon slipped out of his grasp.

When Cloud was about to get back up, he felt a small pressure on his neck and a distorted voice said: '_**Touché.**_'

The blond groaned, even though he had taken Mako injection, his five senses and his strength enhanced, Moon had still caught him off guard. The blond removed the black cloth that blindfolded him for almost an hour and half and stared up at the flying black phoenix as he said grimly: 'You know that's a sneaky trick.'

'_**Didn't I warn you about expecting the unexpected on the battlefield?**_' Moon countered as he dissipated the energy sword while Cloud slowly sat up, but the black mythical bird didn't expect the blond to pull one of its claws. In matter of seconds, Moon found itself pinned down on the ground with a smirking youth hovering above him. '_**You know you are going to regret for your little prank.**_'

Cloud chuckled as he replied confidently: 'Nope, I won't regret it and beside, you won't hurt me anyway.'

After saying these words, the blond rolled over to the side, freeing the winged creature from his hold as he stared up at the cloudy sky and let out a heavy sigh. Gaia, he missed the starry sky he watched every night back at Nibelheim. Since Midgar's Reactors produced so much pollution in both ground and air, the sky is almost always covered by the dark clouds, so he could hardly see the beautiful clear sky. The spiky hair teen closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply the fresh air that the trees around him were able to produce.

'_**You miss Nibelheim.**_' The black phoenix said. It was of a more of statement than a question.

Cloud cracked one eye opened and took a glance at his feather friend who hadn't moved from his spot on the ground and stared at the starless dark sky like he did, then he closed it and replied: 'Yeah, I couldn't see the sky as clearly as in my house. I really wish I could see the stars again, they remind me the most of my mother.'

The boy remembered the beautiful smile of his mother that shines brighter than any star among the sky. When the blond opened his eyes again, they widen in surprised at what was floating around him: small glowing green flakes, which assumed that were made by the Lifestreams, were floating in mid-air or were zooming around like a small meteor.

'_**It might not be as real as if you are in space, but I hope it is enough for you to pretend that they are stars.**_' Cloud turned his head to look at Moon whose eyes were glowing bright orange-yellow.

The SOLDIER smiled happily as he stared at the now _starry_ sky and replied: 'No, it is perfect.'

_So perfect that I could stay here, lying on this ground and stared at them forever._ Cloud thought as his eyelids covered the sapphire orbs and he let himself drifted to the world of dreams as he felt Moon went back inside his materia.

***

_**Strife...**_

_**Strife...**_

_**Cloud Strife...**_

'SOLDIER 3rd Class, Cloud Strife!' A soft, but solemn voice called out. Cloud's eyes immediately snapped open and stared up at the lean shadow figure standing above him, judging by the strong Mako glow in those piercing azure eyes that this person is a SOLDIER and not just any SOLDIER, it's Commander Rhapsodos, the boy quickly got up and saluted the man. 'Professor Hojo had an appointment with you and Kadaj Novia at the Underground Lab 2.'

_Huh? I don't remember we have an appointment tonight. _Cloud thought as he thanked the Commander and ran as fast as he could.

When he made it to the labs, he saw Kadaj lying on a metal table without his top uniform, eyes closed and the left arm was pierced by a needle attached to a tub filled with a green substance that Cloud presumed as Mako, the scene was horrible.

'You boy!' A voice barked. The blond turned to his left to see Hojo walking towards an empty table that was paralleled to Kadaj's with a tray containing two syringes filled with a thick black liquid that Cloud wouldn't dare ask what it was. 'On the table and shirt off!'

The spiky hair SOLDIER glared at the professor with hatred as he removed his shirt and lay on the cool metal table as he eyed his friend in worry, but when he felt a needle pierced his skin, his eyes snapped close and he felt light-headed.

_What? What's going on?_ Cloud thought as he felt his body was burning and every inch of it hurts like hell. Then he felt something pierced his skin again and a high-pitch screech echoed around him. He curled into a ball with his hands over his ears. _STOP IT! SHUT UP!_

**Traitor! Puppet! Broken useless puppet!**

_**Calamity. Sky. Evil. Meteor. Crash. Virus.**_

_I SAY SHUT UP!_ Cloud shouted as the shriek is getting louder, images of a burning village and a ugly creature floating inside a tub flashed and then they all melted away, only to be replace by Kadaj wearing a black leather coat in his arms dying as he used his remaining strength to utter a single word: '_Nii-san..._'

**Betrayer! You useless puppet! You'll always be the broken puppet! Everything you cherish will be gone! Traitor!**

_NO! NO! NO! KADAJ! _Cloud yelled as everything around him turned into ice. Suddenly he heard a faint low growl and he looked up to see two of those black creatures that had attacked them before, snarling at them. _GET AWAY FROM US!_

_**Calamity. Destruction. Kill. Protect. Child.**_

The blond no longer care what is talking to him in his head, all that matter is Kadaj to save and to do that he must kill every one of those creepy beasts. Holding his dying friend close to him with one arm, he extended his only free arm and called out the power of the ice, the only element he had been able to master without a materia with him. Three ice spears formed out of thin air and hurled towards the two monsters, but unlike the ones he had fought before, they moved faster and evaded his attacks easily.

_DAMN YOU! _Cloud placed his hand on the frozen floor and immediately dozen of icicles shot out. _I GOT YOU NOW! _The ice-summoner shouted in his mind as the two black creatures were having a hard time to dodge the icicles coming out of the ground, but one of them melted his ice attacks with a fire spell. _WHY YOU!_

'NII-SAN!' Someone cried out. Cloud looked around and spotted Kadaj, well and unharmed, standing a few feet away from him.

_What? Kadaj? Then- _The blond looked down at the silver hair teen he was holding who is now looking at him with poisonous green eyes with an evil smile on him. Cloud quickly got up and pushed the stranger away, but the body of the look-alike Kadaj suddenly turned into a black smoke and started to swirl around him, burning the skin of the blond who tried to get away.

_**You can die now. Chosen one of Gaia.**_ Cloud heard the vicious voice whispered in his mind when he inhaled some of the smoke which burned his lungs. The boy clutched his throat as he fell to the floor.

_**Get away from him JENOVA!**_ The SOLDIER heard a distorted voice shouted threateningly, then a bright red light covered his vision and he felt the burning sensation left him before he blacked out.

***

'Nii-san!' Kadaj shouted. He is beyond scared when he woke up, Cloud was turning and clawing his skin on the metal table as the evil professor was taking notes in a corner of the room. Then his brother screamed in agony as he got up and everything close to him turned into ice. When Commander Angeal and Genesis entered the lab, it only got worse, Cloud, whose eyes were glowing bright blue, attacked them by casting some sort of ice spells without a materia. This nightmare had only stopped when the body of the blond convulsed and fell to the floor.

Genesis slowly approached the unconscious teen with Angeal close to him and placed his hand over his neck to feel his pulse and then he looked over his shoulder and said: 'He is fine, but we better get him to Infirmary.'

The raven hair Commander nodded his head as he knelt beside the now sleeping blond to pick him up and headed towards the door, ignoring the protests of Hojo, followed by the crimson coat Commander and Kadaj.

'Is Nii-san going to be fine?' The silver hair teen asked Genesis hesitantly.

The auburn hair man turned around and looked at him with an unreadable expression, but Kadaj had the feeling that the azure eyes are not looking at him directly, but at something else, something he should know. After staring at him for a few seconds, he said: 'He will be fine, he's stronger than he looks and had people who care about him.'

For some unknown reasons, the SOLDIER 3rd Class felt that he doesn't belong to the list of the people who care for Cloud that Genesis refer to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.**

* * *

Recovery plus Active equals Party Part 1:

Operation G.A.S

_**Cloud, wake up...**_

_**Don't lose yourself...**_

_**Come back...**_

The young SOLDIER cracked his eyes open just enough to see a black silhouette of a bird hovering above him among the threads of the green Lifestreams. _Moon? Is that you?_ Cloud asked mentally as he sat up rather painfully. _What happen?_

_**Don't you remember what happen? **_The dark phoenix asked. Then what happen in the lab came back to Cloud, his confused face turned into one in panic. _**Don't worry, Kadaj is fine. He isn't in shape for any type of training for now.**_

The blond sighed in relief as he ran his hand through his spiky hair. Sometimes he wondered if Moon could read his mind even without him thinking it aloud or he is just too expressive. Maybe if he could get stronger, then Moon-

_**Don't you ever think or say that! **_The black feather bird screeched, causing Cloud to jump in surprise. That certainly answers his pondering on if the phoenix could read his thought like an opened book or not. The winged creature pressed its head against his shoulder, looking weary and weak. _**You remind me of myself when I was younger...**_

The boy looked down at his winged friend whose eyes were closed and his heavy wings hanged loosely on his side, but Cloud ignored the weight on him, he was more interested on what Moon is about to say, because he never heard of a Summon creature considered itself weak or even young before.

_**Back then, I wasn't as strong as I am right now. Whenever I got injured, the wounds doesn't seemed to heal properly, they need a long, long time before they are mended, even when I got stronger. Just like you, I kept blaming myself about my weakness, because I hate being weaker than anybody. **_Moon took a deep breath and looked down at the small silver dagger he wore. _**When the degradation of my body started, I blamed others for my own misery, because the infected cells inside of me.**_

_What? What do you mean?_ The blond asked.

_**JENOVA, her cells tainted part of Gaia. She is an alien life form who had crash-landed on Gaia thousands of years ago. The Ancients named her the Calamity of the Sky. She likes to use her power to manipulate other's minds and create illusions and she had almost destroyed the whole population of Ancients.**_ The phoenix's red-orange eyes looked into the blue sapphire one. _**You have seen her powers on you, right? The voice, the dying Kadaj and the black monsters?**_

_So everything I saw was only an illusion? Why and how did she get into me?_ Cloud asked, but then realization hit him like a Mega Flare from a Bahamut, the black liquid that Hojo had brought out must have been JENOVA cells, but the question is how did the man get it?

_**JENOVA's body was seal away by the Ancients, but it still remains intact after all these years, lock away by the scientists of Shinra.**_ Moon answered the unasked question.

_Then you know where it is. Why didn't you go and destroy it?_ The blond questioned rather furiously, but regretted his harsh tone immediately. _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you for-_

_**It's all right, Cloud. I know what you mean, but I simply can't right now, I can't fight her with my current power and if I do, she will manipulate those who had her cells in them... **_The phoenix turned its head away from him and averted his gaze.

_The infected cells inside you, is it the JENOVA cells?_ The spiky hair SOLDIER asked hesitantly.

_**Yes. They had changed, but they still remain as her cells, so I'm not sure what would happen if I get too close to her. That's also why I want you to become stronger, to make sure you won't be affected by her power. I could only suppress the JENOVA cells in you for now. **_Moon explained as it removed itself from the blond, but before it could, Cloud wrapped his arms around it, preventing it to go.

'Thank you.' Cloud whispered. His voice soft and gentle. 'Thanks for being with me whenever I need you, for protecting me, teaching me, everything...'

The phoenix chuckled a bit and said sarcastically: '_**I really wish you know how troublesome your gift of the Goddess was for me.**_'

'What do you mean "my gift of the Goddess"?' The blond asked as he loosens his hold on the bird.

'_**Your mood, it's quite contagious to everyone around you. We could easily feel what you are feeling. Some might even think it was their own feelings.**_' The black phoenix explained.

'Sorry, I didn't know.' Cloud apologized as he ran his fingers through the soft and almost silky black feathers.

'_**It's alright, but just remembers one thing though.**_' Moon enveloped him with its wide black wings. '_**Enjoy everyday you have, no matter how bad they are, there are more people who care for you than just me and Kadaj, if you just let your eyes open and look a little further away, you'll see them.**_'

Then Cloud's vision was covered by the black feathers and he knew nothing more.

***

Sephiroth sat next to the unconscious blond in the same ward he had met him for the first time. It's only by pure coincidence, that Genesis and Angeal had gone down to the lab, to give back the sword that Cloud had forgotten in the forest, and got him and Kadaj out of there before Hojo worsen their situation. The Great General doesn't know why he decided to stay next to this boy who he had only met twice, but he felt like he should be here or more like a little voice in his head told him that. Maybe he just felt more comfortable next to him than anyone else. Since Cloud didn't look at him with fear like everyone who had first met him would show. He just looked at him like he was a normal person.

A coughing sound brought the silver hair man out of his thoughts and he looked at the boy's eyes opened a little as he said in hoarse voice: 'Kadaj?'

Sephiroth didn't answer. He took a water jug on the nightstand next to the bed and poured some water into a small glass, handing it to the blond as he said: 'Kadaj is fine, he is in the next room. Your body tried to expel the J-cells from your bloodstreams, so you might feel tired and disoriented every now then, but the doctors said that your body had always been in a healthy state, you should be able to recover completely in a few days.'

Cloud sat up to take the offered glass into his shaking hands and drank half of it before he said with a small smile: 'Thank you.'

'You don't need to thank me for giving you some water.' The silver hair General replied.

'Not just that, I mean thank you for being here.' The blond coughed a little bit before he added. 'It's nice to wake up and see someone beside you, then being alone.'

Sephiroth's lips tilted upward for minutely as the boy finished his drink before it vanished without a trace like it hadn't been there. The General had to admit that Strife had a contagious smile that could rival the grin of Angeal's apprentice. Now he kind of understands why his young look-alike clung on this boy so much that he named him his brother, because Cloud unconsciously acts like one, who cares and looks after others.

The silver hair man slowly stood up and placed his hand over the defy-gravity spiky hair of the boy who looked up at him questionably as he said: 'Rest now. I'll make sure Hojo won't do anymore tests on you and Kadaj for a while.'

Then he headed towards the door, but he stopped in his track when the boy thanked him again, he turned around to look at those faint glowing eyes and said softly: 'You don't need to thank me, it's my job to assure that every one of my SOLDIERs are in top shape.'

'I know, but I just felt like I need to say it, that's all.' Cloud replied as his smile widen a little before leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. 'Good night.'

Sephiroth stared surprisingly at the sleeping blond for a moment and then he closed the door quietly as he bid Cloud good night and turned to the next room, where he placed his hand over the door and whispered another good night to the occupant of the room before he walked down the empty and silent corridor.

***

Three days later, Cloud and Kadaj were discharged from the Infirmary. The spiky hair SOLDIER thought he could spent some times to walk around the building, reading books and talks with Moon, but his plan was ruining when the hyper-active SOLDIER 2nd Class, Zack Fair with Kunsel, who Cloud dubbed as the raven hair teen's _partner-in-crime_, caught them in the corridor and told them that they were going to throw a party for their recovery.

'Zack, it's really not necessary. I _really_ don't think we should bother to throw a party just because we were discharged from the Infirmary.' The blond tried to reason with Zack, even though he knew it was useless, because when the raven hair SOLDIER decided to do something, he will make sure that is done.

'Kunsel had already brooked us a place in a restaurant in Sector 8, it had a lot goodies there!' Zack exclaimed enthusiastically, ignoring the refusal of the blond. 'Oh, and we'll call Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis too!'

'HUH?! NO ZACK, THAT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA. I MEAN GENERAL SEPHIROTH, COMMANDER HEWLEY AND RHAPSODOS ARE VERY BUSY, SO WE SHOULDN'T BORDER THEM FOR A SMALL PARTY!' Cloud yelled out in panic.

'That's a great idea! We could all go out and have a great time!' Kadaj said as enthusiastic as Zack.

'You're not helping me, Kadaj.' The blond hissed under his breath.

'So do we have an agreement?' The spiky raven hair teen asked as he extended his hand.

'AGREE!' Kadaj shouted cheerfully and shook the extended hand rather vigorously while Cloud groaned loudly.

'OK! OPERATION G.A.S BEGINS! AKA OPERATION GENESIS. ANGEAL. SEPHIROTH!' Zack yelled as he punched up in the air before he pointed at Kunsel. 'Kunsel! Make a safe passageway for our great General and Commanders!'

'Roger!' The SOLDIER 2nd Class saluted before he jogged away.

'Kadaj! You will go to the top floor with this card and convince Sephiroth or die trying to get his ass to the lobby of level 49!' The raven hair teen ordered as he tossed an ID card to the silver hair teen.

'Yes sir!' Kadaj saluted before he ran to the opposite direction of where Kunsel jogged to.

'Now, Cloud-'

'No, I'm not going!' Cloud interrupted as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the grinning SOLDIER.

'Come on, Cloud! It's going to be fun!' Zack said to the blond before he grabbed his arm and dragged him down the corridor towards the elevator, completely ignoring the loud protests and struggles of his friend.

***

When they reached the First Class level, Cloud was trying to pull Zack back into the elevator, but since his friend was taller and stronger than him, the chance of him pulling the bigger teen back is pretty slim.

'Cloud! Stop arguing with me and help me convince Genesis and Angeal to come with us to the party!' Zack sighed in exasperation when they arrived in front of the crimson Commander's office. 'Well, not that we really need to convince Angeal, he'll probably accept it if I ask, but Genesis will be a little harder.'

'No offense, Zack, but I want to live a _long _life, not a _short_ one.' The young blond told his companion as he pulled his arm out of the vice-grip of Zack.

'What do you mean?' The black hair boy asked confusingly.

'One, from what I have heard of, Genesis doesn't like _you_. Two, he doesn't like party and three, I'm pretty sure that he'll kill us if _you_ tried to _annoy _him to come with _you_.' Cloud explained.

'That's why I brought you with, while I handle Angeal, _you_ will go and convince _Genesis_.' If looks could kill people, the one that Cloud is throwing to Zack will probably zapped, froze and burned him to death.

'You know, I will be very honor to die in your place _if _we're on the battlefield.' The blond told raven hair boy sarcastically, who thank him for the praise, which had caused the angry bubble of Cloud to burst. 'BUT WHAT YOU ARE ASKING ME TO DO RIGHT NOW CHANGE MY MIND ABOUT THAT! SINCE YOU ARE SENDING ME ON A ONE-WAY TRIP TO HELL ITSELF!'

A small chuckle in the back of Cloud's mind made him more furious than ever. _AND I DON'T NEED YOUR HUMORLESS LAUGH IN MY HEAD!_

_**Sorry, but the face that your friend is making right now is most certainly priceless.**_ Now that Moon mentioned it, Zack does look funny with his half terrorized and shocked face. The blond quickly covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stop the giggling sound that's threatening to jump out of his throat in any seconds. In less than ten seconds, he couldn't held back any longer and let out a bark of laughter. After a few seconds, the raven hair teen joined him.

Their laughter stopped abruptly when the office doors creaked eerily opened to reveal Genesis Rhapsodos. Even though the auburn hair Commander had a great reputation on manipulating the Fire materia, the two teens felt that the whole level's temperature dropped more or less 50 degrees and the lights seemed dimmer.

'Hi there Genesis.' Zack greeted and tried to use his cheerfulness to brighten the place up, but it fails miserably with the almost haunting and heavy cold hanging around them.

'Five seconds.' The Commander said as he extended his five gloved fingers. 'After five seconds, if you could quote Loveless Act IV completely, I'll go, if not, _both_ of you will suffer a grave consequence. One.'

Now Cloud and Zack are really in panic, mainly because none of them know the Loveless' poems by heart like Genesis does: the blond heard only pieces of the Act II and III, but he never read Loveless before and the raven hair boy had never even heard of the Loveless. One thing is clear for them, that their doom is unavoidable.

_**Loveless Act IV...**_ Cloud heard Moon said in his mind as the auburn hair man counted to four. Then he cleared his throat which immediately drew the attentions of the two men before he recited at the same time as the black phoenix in his mind:

'My friend, the fates are cruel  
There are no dreams, no honor remains  
The arrow has left the bow of the goddess

My soul, corrupted by vengeance  
Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey  
In my own salvation  
And your eternal slumber

Legend shall speak  
Of sacrifice at world's end  
The wind sails over the water's surface  
Quietly, but surely.'

Zack stared at the blond disbelievingly as Genesis stared at him surprisingly in an awkward silence which was quickly broken when the crimson coat Commander asked them where they will meet up.

'You little clever bastard!' The SOLDIER 2nd Class shouted joyfully as he flung himself onto Cloud, squeezing the life out of him and ruffled his spiky blond hair.

When Cloud was able to pull himself back from the raven hair man, he said as his face changed into a ferocious one: 'We'll have a _very serious _conversation after tonight.'

Zack gulped and laughed uneasily while Genesis watched the two teens with amusement.

'Well, I'll go and get Angeal, so see ya!' Zack shouted as he ran away as fast as he could from the blond. 'Meet you guys at the level 49's lobby!'

Cloud held the bridge of his nose with a look of pure anger, cursing the black hair boy, while auburn hair man closed his door and headed towards the elevator. After a few steps, he looked over his shoulder and asked: 'Are you coming, SOLDIER?'

The question snapped the blond out of his mind cursing and he quickly answered with a "yes sir" before he rejoined the crimson Commander and headed towards level 49's lobby.

* * *

**This is my first attempt of Humor, so please review and tell what do you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. I have finally finish Chapter 9! Enjoy my newest chapter everyone!**

* * *

Recovery plus Active equals Party Part 2:

Zack's _REAL_ Party Plan

Sometimes Cloud doesn't know if he should praise or kill Zack, because the SOLDIER 2nd Class could do the impossible, like sneaked out with the three most famous SOLDIERs out of Shinra without being seen by anyone and arrived at the Slum, to be more specific the Wall Market, without people noticing them, that can be consider as the biggest miracle of all.

'Come on, you guys! We're almost there!' The spiky black hair teen shouted at the small group of SOLDIER as he ran towards a large restaurant.

'Hey! Wait up!' Kadaj yelled back before he broke into a run after Zack.

'Can someone please remind me why I haven't killed either of them yet?' The irritated blond asked aloud as he rubbed his temple with his fingers while Sephiroth did his best to not roll his eyes in annoyance.

'Cuz you love us too much!' Zack and Kadaj shouted sheepishly at the same waving at them from the restaurant's doors.

'Gaia! I'm SO going to kill them one way or another after tonight.' Cloud shouted as he threw his arm in the air dramatically before he stomped towards the restaurant, followed by Sephiroth, who is as irritated as he is, then by Angeal and Genesis who were having a hard time to not smirk in amusement.

When they entered the restaurant, someone yelled out: 'Yo! Took you long enough to get here!'

The whole group turned their heads towards the source of the voice and saw a group of five people in navy blue suit, only one of them were in white. If Cloud had to guess, he is pretty sure that those people are the Turks, who performed black ops in secret for the Shinra Company, mostly kidnapping and assassinations, or non-officially known as the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department. Either way, they are bad news in capital B and N.

'Hey! I was able to bring them here without being spot by some crazy fans once! So I win the first round!' The raven spiky teen shouted angrily at a red hair teen with his hair tied back in a ponytail and two crescent red tattoos on his cheek bones.

'No, I got here with my boss first! So I win the first round!' The red head snarled as he got up to his feet and both of them glared at each other.

'Did we-' Cloud and Angeal started.

'Miss something?' Kadaj and Sephiroth finished the question. A low chuckle was sounded behind them.

The confused quartet turned around to see Genesis with one of his mysterious smile on his face and he looked at them with the face that said don't-you-guys-see-the-deal, seeing their still confused looks, the auburn hair Commander explained it plain and simple: 'Zack and Reno here are having a bet of some kind about getting us here before the other does. Without being seen apparently.'

Angeal placed his hand over his forehead and shook his head exasperatedly, the two silver hair SOLDIERs looked surprised at Cloud, who usually had an innocent look, now had the most murderous look in the whole world, not even the most powerful and insane man could compare to his.

'Come on, Nii-san! I'll buy you a few drinks!' Kadaj said rather cheerfully as he wrapped his arm around Cloud's, who is about to jump on Zack, and pulled him to the bar counter while the three famous SOLDIER settled themselves on a table at the far back side of the restaurant. 'What do you want to drink?'

'How about Zack's blood?' The angry blond replied in a small hiss. He is beyond frustrated, he is burning mad! He couldn't believe that Zack had _used_ him to get Genesis out of his office, which could be dubbed as Mission Impossible, just for one stupid stinking bet!

'Hey! I _really_ want to take you out for a party!' Zack shouted unhappily as he took a seat next to Cloud who glared at him venomously while Kadaj ordered a large glass of cold water for the blond. 'HONEST! It's for the honor of SOLDIER that made that bet with Reno!'

'I'll make sure that tomorrow we have a _long _and_ serious_ conversation.' Cloud muttered under his breath as he took the glass of water that the bartender had put next to him and drank all its content in a second before he slammed it back on the wooden counter.

'Ladies and Gentlemen!' The trio heard the loud voice of Kunsel somewhere behind them and they turned around to look at the small platform where the other Second Class stood with a microphone in his hand. 'Our "Open Night Karaoke" begins right now! And I proudly present to you our first singer, Reno!'

'Good! I'll definitely win round two!' This small piece of information caused Cloud's anger to burn ten times stronger than before.

'Round two? _Round two_?' The blond empathized as he glared at a cowering Zack. 'What. The. Hell. Is. So. Important. That. You. Have. Win. Oh. So. Badly!'

The black hair boy let out a nervous laugh as he stuttered: 'Well... Reno and I had a bet last night... That whoever's group wins, the other group will have do everything the winner group said for a whole year. So... Euh... I kind of decided that since you and Kadaj were discharge today, I thought you two will be interested to help me to win this bet I had made and have a small party at the same time...'

'I am not interested and I won't help you even if you beg me.' Cloud hissed angrily before he turned around to watch the red hair guy who had greeted them stepped onto the platform as the music slowly started up and then he shouted the lyrics more than singing them:

Kizutsuita nukegara wo tada dakishimeteita  
Furisosogu ame wa shizuka na kimi no namida  
Wake me up  
Wake me up  
Wake me up  
Kono yume kara  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Oshietekure Maria!

Koroshite...  
To hohoemi nagara hoho ni fureta  
Mienai me ni namida wo tamete kieteyuku  
Take me Out  
Take me Out  
Take me Out  
Kono yume kara  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Kotaetekure JESUS!

God said when you die,  
Your life will pass before your own eyes.  
If you want to feel it right now,  
Just do it, do it, do it!

Wake me up  
Wake me up  
Wake me up  
Kono yume kara  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Oshietekure

Take me Out  
Take me Out  
Take me Out  
Kono yume kara  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Real or dream?  
Kotaetekure JESUS!

After he had finished his song, people applause for Reno, but most of them, which include the group of SOLDIER, were glad that the torture to their ears is over.

'Man, does he know that he is a little too loud for our ears?' Kadaj asked angrily as he rubbed his ears.

'Why don't you ask him personally?' Cloud replied with the same tone as the silver hair teen when he saw Reno was walking towards them.

'Can you top that Zack?' The red head asked cockily with a wide grin.

The black hair SOLDIER scoffed as he got up and told Reno sheepishly: 'Watch and learn from the pro man.'

As Zack took the microphone and walked towards the performance stage, while Reno returned to seat with the rest of the Turks, Cloud put his hands over his ears and told Kadaj: 'Tell me when it's over ok?'

The blond was sure that Zack is going to broke his eardrums one way or another, seeing that whenever the hyper-active SOLDIER was excited or getting a little cocky, his voice could become the most deadly weapon of all times.

Zack smirked arrogantly at his spectators as the music started, one of his favorite tunes.

Sake ta mune no kizuguchi ni  
Afure nagareru PAIN IN THE DARK  
Kasane ae ta shunkan no  
Tsunagaru omoi tokashi te

Same nai netsu ni unasare te  
Saigo no koe mo  
Kikoe nai

DON'T CRY  
Koware sou na hodo dakishime tara Kimi ga furue te i ta  
Sotto kazasu tenohira ni  
Fure te mise te

NEVER UNTIL THE END

Cloud blinked in surprise as he slowly removed his hands from his ears, because he couldn't believe that Zack could sing so smoothly and a glowing aura emanated from his body making looks a lot like an angel.

Koboreochiru suna no you ni Hakanai negai o CLOSE TO THE LIGHT  
Toji ta kimi no omokage ni  
Kare nai namida nijin de

Hodoi ta yubi no sukima kara  
Inori ga fukaku tsukisasaru

DON'T CRY  
Hate nai itami to kanashimi kara Kimi o sukue ta daro u  
Motto tsuyoku tenohira ni  
Fure te mise te

EVER AND NEVER END  
Tokihanatsu SO FAR AWAY!

Kizamu inochi no tsubasa de Umarekawaru toki o  
Machikogare te

DON'T CRY  
Koware sou na hodo dakishime tara Kimi ga furue te i ta  
Sotto kazasu tenohira ni  
Fure te mise te  
Kitto sagashi te i ta n da  
Iroase nai  
Kimi toiu na no kiseki  
Motto tsuyoku tenohira de  
Boku ni fure te

EVER AND NEVER END

Cheers and applauses erupted in the whole restaurant as the raven hair man strode towards the young dumbfounded blond with a big wide grin plastered on his face.

'So what do you think?' Zack asked Cloud as he sat next to him.

The blond had to blink three times before he regained his composure and turned his gaze away from Zack as he answered nonchalantly: 'Yeah, great. I guess.'

After those words left his mouth, the black hair boy jumped on him and gave him a chocking bear hug as he screamed: 'Oh, Cloudy! You are making me blush!'

'AND YOU ARE EMBARASSING ME!' The blond shouted as he tried to get Zack off of him.

'HEY! GET OFF OF NII-SAN!' Kadaj shouted angrily as he helped Cloud to pull Zack off. The trio stopped their mingling when they heard a gentler and softer and more feminine voice rose at the platform.

It's only love  
It's only love

Moshimo negai hitotsudake kanaunara  
Kimi no sobade nemurasete  
Donna basho demo iiyo

Beautiful world  
Mayowazu Kimidake wo mitsumeteiru

Beautiful boy  
Jibun no utsukushisa mada shiranaino  
It's only love

The girl with long curly brown hair who is singing paused to wink at their direction before she continued, leaving them staring at her dumbfounded.

Netemo sametemo  
Shounen manga, yume mite bakka  
Jibun ga shijyanaino  
Naniga hoshiika wakaranakute  
Nurui namida ga hoo wo tsutau

Iitai koto nantenai  
Tada mouichido aitai  
Iitai koto ienai  
Konjyou nashi kamoshirenai  
Soredeiikedo

Moshimo negai hitotsudake kanaunara  
Kimi no sobade nemurasete  
Donna basho demo iiyo

Beautiful world  
Mayowazu Kimidake wo mitsumeteiru

Beautiful boy  
Jibun no utsukushisa mada shiranaino  
It's only love

Donna kotodemo yattemite  
Sonn wo shitatte  
Sukoshi keikenchi ageru

Shinbun nanka irenai  
Tannjyun na koto ga nottenai  
Saikin choushi doudai  
Genki ni shiterunara  
Betsuni iikedo

Boku no sekai kierumade aerunara  
Kimi no sobade nemurasete  
Donna basho demo kekkou

Beautiful world  
Hakanaku sugete yuku hibi no naka de  
Beautiful boy  
Kibunn no mura ma shouganaine

Moshimo negai hitotsudake kanaunara  
Kimi no sobade nemurasete

As the music died, the whole crowd cheered and whistled for the first girl singer, some drunks did catcalls, but they immediately stopped when the Turks glared at them.

'Uh-oh, looks like Cissnei got half of the crowd on their side.' Zack muttered under his breath as he stepped away from Cloud and looked at Kadaj with a superior look. 'You go ahead Kadaj and show them who the boss is!'

The silver hair teen nodded before he leaned closer to Cloud and whispered in his ears: 'Nii-san, don't look at anything else, but me, ok?'

Then Kadaj went towards the stage, leaving a confused blond behind. People in the restaurant started to whisper to each other when they saw the appearance of the young singer.

'Is that Sephiroth?' A girl whispered to her friend who shook her head.

'No, his hair is too short. Maybe it is his brother?' Her friend whispered back.

'I never heard that the Great Sephiroth had a brother before.' A man said in a low voice to those who are around him.

All of them fell in silence when Kadaj started to sing.

Nee konna katachi no deai shika nakatta no? kanashii ne  
Anata ni shindemo ayamete hoshiku mo nai onegai

Unmei sae nomikomare shizumisou na umi e to

Negai yo kaze ni notte yoake no kane wo narase yo  
Tori no you ni My wishes over their airspace  
Musuu no nami wo koe asu e tachimukau anata wo mamoritamae  
My life I trade it for your pain  
Arasoi yo tomare!

Nee hito wa doushite kurikaeshi ayamachi wo kasaneteku?  
Shinka shinai dare ni mo nagareru kono chi ga daikirai

Honnou de sabakiau dare no demo nai daichi de

Cloud's eyebrow twitched as he watched Kadaj singing this song from his heart. It's like he is trying to reach out for him, but why? He is always with him. Why did he look so _sad_? He stared at the deep green eyes that are now filled with a sudden pain and sadness in them, but they immediately disappeared when Kadaj continued his song.

Sumiwataru mirai ga kita nara kusabana mo heiki ni yadoru darou  
My wishes over their airspace  
Dareka yuriokoshite warui yume kara samashite yo  
Kanau no nara My life I trade it for your pain  
Dore dake inoreba ten ni todoku?

Ima asayake ga unabara to watashi wo utsusu

Negai yo kaze ni notte yoake no kane wo narase yo  
Tori no you ni My wishes over their airspace  
Musuu no nami wo koe asu e tachimukau anata wo mamoritamae  
My life I trade it for your pain

Furimukazu habatake kono omoi wo hakonde ano sora wo tondeku  
Mirai wa dare ni mo uchiotosenai

Everyone was silent until the last note of the music was over, then they burst into cheers as Kadaj jumped off the stage and headed towards Cloud with a goofy grin, the girls looked after him almost lustfully.

'You definitely rock Kadaj! We're going to win this for sure!' Zack said happily as he ruffled Kadaj's hair before he looked at the table of Turks where they discussed among themselves. A grin slowly made its way on the raven hair SOLDIER's face. 'Oh, looks like they ran out of cards.'

Unfortunately, his grin vanished faster than it had appeared on his face when the man in the white suit got up, he had short blond hair and blue eyes that are similar to Cloud's, but they lacked the warmth that the younger blond have.

When he is on the stage, all the girls turned their attentions towards him than the silver hair teen, some of them continued to whisper, but they all stopped when the man started to sing.

This ain't a song for the broken-hearted  
No silent prayer for the faith-departed  
I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd  
You're gonna hear my voice  
When I shout it out loud

It's my life  
It's now or never  
I ain't gonna live forever  
I just want to live while I'm alive  
(It's my life)  
My heart is like an open highway  
Like Frankie said  
I did it my way  
I just wanna live while I'm alive  
It's my life

This is for the ones who stood their ground  
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down  
Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake  
Luck ain't even lucky  
Got to make your own breaks

It's my life  
And it's now or never  
I ain't gonna live forever  
I just want to live while I'm alive  
(It's my life)  
My heart is like an open highway  
Like Frankie said  
I did it my way  
I just want to live while I'm alive  
'Cause it's my world

Better stand tall when they're calling you out  
Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down

It's my life  
And it's now or never  
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever  
I just want to live while I'm alive  
(It's my life)  
My heart is like an open highway  
Like Frankie said  
I did it my way  
I just want to live while I'm alive

It's my life  
And it's now or never  
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever  
I just want to live while I'm alive  
(It's my life)  
My heart is like an open highway  
Like Frankie said  
I did it my way  
I just want to live while I'm alive  
'Cause it's my life!

People immediately started to cheer and some girls did some dramatic sighs when the music had stopped, while the blond hair left the stage to rejoin the Turks' table where the others were snickering at Zack's attempt to ask Cloud to sing.

'Cloud, please?' The raven hair teen begged with his puppy eyes.

'NO, NO, NO, NO AND NO!' Cloud answered firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest, completely immune to the puppy look of Zack.

'Cloud! You are really my last hope to win this round or I have to suffer the worst humiliation in history!' The Second Class shouted dramatically as he pulled the blond up and dragged him towards the stage.

'_Your_ humiliation?! What about _my_ humiliation?! I have never ever sing anything before in my whole life goddamn it!' Cloud shouted back as he tried to find something to grab on for his dear life, but it is utterly impossible with Kadaj behind him, helping Zack to get him on the stage by pushing him from behind.

'Nii-san! You are going to be great if you just try and beside, it's fun to sing on stage.' The young Third Class tried to comfort the blond as they inched closer and closer to the platform, but Cloud only struggled harder.

_**You know, you should just do as they say, since I doubt they would let you go without singing at least one song tonight.**_ Moon mused in his head. Cloud groaned exasperatedly, he knew that the black phoenix is right, but he really doesn't want to sing in front of a crowd and he doesn't even have a song in his mind. Not that he had never heard any song before. He had heard his mother sang dozen of different songs coming from the small radio in the kitchen and had sometimes forced him to sing along with her, so he knew a few popular ones.

Cloud snapped out of his trance when he felt a light tap on his back and he found himself standing on the stage with a microphone in his hand, he looked back to see, Kunsel asking him which song he'll pick.

He thought for a second or two before he mouthed the name of the song that he and his mother had sang more than once while he was still at Nibelheim.

_Well, here goes nothing. _The young blond thought the music started.

When you feel all alone  
And the world has turned its back on you  
Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart  
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you  
It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold  
When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

Let me be the one you call  
If you jump I'll break your fall  
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night  
If you need to fall apart  
I can mend a broken heart  
If you need to crash then crash and burn  
You're not alone

When you feel all alone  
And a loyal friend is hard to find  
You're caught in a one way street  
With the monsters in your head  
When hopes and dreams are far away and  
You feel like you can't face the day

Let me be the one you call  
If you jump I'll break your fall  
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night  
If you need to fall apart  
I can mend a broken heart  
If you need to crash then crash and burn  
You're not alone

'Cause there has always been heartache and pain  
And when it's over you'll breathe again  
You'll breath again

When you feel all alone  
And the world has turned its back on you  
Give me a moment please  
To tame your wild wild heart

Let me be the one you call  
If you jump I'll break your fall  
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night  
If you need to fall apart  
I can mend a broken heart  
If you need to crash then crash and burn  
You're not alone

When Cloud had finished his song, every single person in the restaurant was silent, which it's not a very good sign, but suddenly the crowd erupted into cheers and asked for an encore.

'Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but this is the last song for "Open Night Karaoke", so please come again every Wednesday and you might have a chance to see one of your favorite singers of today.' Kunsel announced as he took the microphone from Cloud who gave him a small grateful smile, because he doesn't what do in front of all those people.

When he got down the stage, he saw Zack and Kadaj were having an argument with the Turks, probably about who had won the second round of the bet. Using the opportunity, of having the two hyper-active SOLDIERs distracted, he quietly slipped out of the restaurant, with only Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis to witness his quiet departure.

Angeal was about to get up from his seat to tell Zack that Cloud had left, but the silver hair General stopped him and said: 'No, let Cloud get some rest, Zack had already exhausted him too much. Let him have some peace and quiet.'

* * *

**P.S The songs that I had used in this chapter don't belong to me either.**

**Jesus - By Gackt**

**Innocent Sorrow - By Abingdon Boys School**

**Beautiful World - By Utada Hikaru**

**Daybreak's Bell - By L'Arc-en-Ciel**

**It's my Life - Bon Jovi**

**Crash and Burn - Savage Garden**

**Please review and tell what you think about this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.**

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Recovery plus Active equals Party Part 3:

A Small Walk to Midnight

At 9 o'clock, Cloud had finally reached the upper plate and he let out a relief sigh when he saw the fountain of Sector 8, because it's the closest place to Shinra Headquarter, which means he will be back into his room in no time and with at least an hour or two to spare without an over-protective bodyguard with him.

'Finally! Free at last!' The blond cried out happily as he stretched his arms.

'_**Indeed.**_' A distorted voice said aloud behind him. Cloud turned around and almost jumped in surprise when he saw the black phoenix hovering a few feet from the ground and stretching its wings.

'Moon! You can't come out like this! People will see you!' The young SOLDIER shouted in panic as he scanned the streets to see if somebody had seen the sudden appearance of the winged creature.

'_**Don't worry about me being seen. Since everyone will be in the LOVELESS Avenue for the Loveless Play, I doubted that someone else walked around here at this time of the night.**_' Moon explained to Cloud calmly.

Then Cloud started to look around them and what his winged friend said it's true, there is only the two of them at the Fountain Place, the only signs of life were at the distant LOVELESS Avenue, but still, if by any chance they were spotted by someone and they report to Shinra, then Moon will be in danger even if he kept him in the necklace.

'Anyway. Moon, you should just-' The last words trailed off as the blond stared in shock at the black phoenix enveloped by its own large wings with a red aura surrounding it.

When the crimson light faded and the wings dissipated into dozens of black feathers, Cloud gasped in surprised. A man with shoulder-length auburn hair with the tips tainted in black, a long tail wrapped in a black ribbon at the base of his hair or feathers, to be exact, stood at the place where Moon was. The stranger wore a tight black leather pants with knee-high black boots and a black t-shirt, his hands were covered by black leather gloves. The only thing that's left unchanged of the phoenix was the two red-orange eyes which the left one was covered by long bangs. The silver dagger-shaped pendant had turned into a earring attached to his left ear.

'It's been a while since I was in this form.' Moon said, his voice no longer distorted, but soft and melodious, as he flexed his fingers, then he turned his gaze towards the shock blond, whose eyes grew wider. 'Is something wrong?'

Cloud couldn't take his eyes off of Moon, not that something was wrong with his appearance, he is handsome, but it was his face that shocked him the most, Moon looked almost like Genesis Rhapsodos! Minus the tail and the feathers and the eyes were azure, he looked exactly like a twin of the crimson Commander.

After a minute or two, he shook his head to clear his thoughts and answered: 'Nothing really important. It's just that you-'

'Look like Genesis.' Moon finished and chuckled. 'Isn't it a good thing that I look like him? After all, you seemed scared of him this afternoon.'

'I'm not scared of him!' Cloud protested angrily. 'I just don't like how Zack used me to get Commander Rhapsodos out of his office.'

The auburn hair man smirked at the fuming teen before he offered his hand and asked: 'Well then, would you join me for a small walk at the LOVELESS Avenue?'

Glad for the change of subject, the blond quickly accepted and both of them walked towards the noisy street. The fool mood of the SOLDIER quickly brightened and Cloud turned back to his usual kind innocent self with a hint of curiosity in the deep blue shades of his eyes just like the ones of a child.

It was the first time, he had ever been to the LOVELESS Avenue, and people told him that this avenue was the place where people who enjoyed art and literature would go to. Most of the shops were bookstores, some small cafés and a theater for the Loveless play.

'Oh yeah! How did you know the Loveless' poems, Moon?' Cloud asked when he saw one of the Loveless posters on the wall.

'I guess you never heard that the Loveless was an ancient prophecy, have you?' Moon asked as they stopped abruptly.

'A prophecy? Of what?' The blond asked curiously.

'The future.' The man answered nonchalantly.

'The Planet told you that?' Now Cloud was really interested to what Moon had revealed about the Loveless.

'No, but the Loveless were engraved into stone tablets that laid hidden deep in the grounds near the Lifestreams. It is said that they predicted the future of Gaia's ever-lasting gift to the world.' The auburn hair man explained.

'So you had seen these tablets?' Cloud asked excitedly. It had been nearly seven long years since he had heard of a story as interesting as what Moon is telling him right now.

A sad smile was formed on the handsome man's face as he said: 'I had seen them a long, long time ago.'

'Oh, I'm sorry.' The blond offered.

'For what?' Moon asked surprised by the boy's words.

'It's just that, you seemed sad whenever I said or asked something about or link your past. I'm sorry for reminding you bad things... Even if I don't know if summons had memories about their past...' Cloud explained himself clumsily as he played with his fingers unconsciously.

Moon simply smiled and placed his hand over the unruly blond hair of the boy as he said: 'Thank you, but it's okay. You don't need to apologize whenever I seem sad.'

Cloud nodded his head as the man removed his hand from his hair and both of them exchanged warm smiles before they continued their walk. They walked passed bookstores and small shops, until a small café drew the attention of Moon.

'What is it?' The young blond asked and looked at the glass of the small café where a large poster with a purple and white apple-shape fruit on it said:

**BIG SALE!**

**BANORA WHITE APPLE JUICE**

**&**

**DUMBAPPLES**

**A DELICACY YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO MISS!**

'What's a Dumbapple?' Cloud asked after studying the image for a few seconds, but the word, Banora, sounded a little familiar, but he couldn't remember where did he heard it before.

'It is properly known as the White Banora, but the people from the Banora Village are so fond of them, that they called it the Stupid Apple or Dumbapple. These fruits could only pick once a year or maybe longer, that's why it is consider as a grant delicacy by many people.' The auburn hair man explained with a small bitter smile before he looked over the shoulder of the blond and spotted something. 'Cloud, wait here for second. I'll be right back.'

The SOLDIER nodded his head in acceptance as Moon left his sides, while he continued to stare at the poster, searching in his mind and thinking why the name sounded so familiar. _Banora. Banora. Banora. I have heard of this name before, but where? _Then a porcupine hair SOLDIER and his mentor appeared among his memories. _Of course! Zack had told me and Kadaj that Angeal came from Banora while we're in the Infirmary. Hum... I wonder what a Dumbapple tastes like._

He opened door which hit a small bell hang above the entrance of the café and almost immediately, a young brunette came to welcomed him: 'How may I serve you, sir?'

'Euh... I saw the poster outside...' Cloud stuttered timidly as he pointed at the glass. He was never a social-type person, and usually, Kadaj was the one who does the talking, since he always seemed to lose his voice when he talked in public places.

'Oh. You are pretty lucky that we still have one. Most of the times, they are gone by the end of the day.' Waitress told the young blond as she moved to the back of the counter to retrieve the purple and white apple from a small refrigerator.

'You don't have one more?' Cloud asked as he took out his black wallet.

'No, sir. This is the only one left.' The young girl told him as she placed the fruit on the counter. 'And it would be a thousand gil please.'

'What?!' Cloud almost shouted disbelievingly as he stared at the apple. 'This costs a thousand gil?'

'Hey, it's not me who decide the price for these sweeties.' The girl answered and gave him a look that said take-it-or-leave-it-is-up-to-you. The blond paid for the little fruit while shouting curses in his mind, he is lucky to have enough gil left to buy the Dumbapple, then he walked out of the café angrily with the apple in his hand. _First, I was force to confront Commander Rhapsodos, then I have to go and sing in front of a crowd, and now I have to pay a thousand gil just to taste a simple apple. What's next?_

'Cloud?' The boy looked up to see who called him and saw Moon walking towards him with something white in his hand. Cloud's frustration almost vanished into thin air when his friend came back. 'Here, this for you.'

Moon showed him the object he was holding. It was a white leather bound book with a gold-colored title "LOVELESS". Cloud's eyes widen in shock at what he saw as he took the book in his hand and asked: 'Where did you get this?'

'They are giving them for free at the Theater.' The auburn hair man answered as the young blond flipped through the pages. 'Since I know you'll ask me many questions about Loveless, I thought that this should answer some of your questions.'

'Thanks Moon. Oh, and this is for you.' The boy said as he handed the Dumbapple to his friend, who took it from his hand gracefully, as if the apple was made of glass. Then he looked at it for a moment before he took a bite, his lips formed a genuine happy smile.

'It brings back great memories, doesn't it?' The young blond asked with a smile of his own. He had never seen Moon smiled like that before, like he had nothing to worry about or a burden he must bear for the sake of humanity. A smile of a normal and happy person or a phoenix perhaps, after all he is a summon creature.

'A little.' The man replied before he held the bitten fruit out for the boy. 'Why don't you try it?'

Cloud thanked his friend as he took the offered apple into his hands and studied the white area where Moon had bitten before he took an equally large bite. It tastes sweet, sweeter than anything he had eaten before, it's quite unique.

'How does it taste?' Moon asked as the blond continued to chew and savor the wonderful taste of the White Banora.

_It's sweet and delicious._ Cloud replied mentally, but he wondered at the same time, if the summon creature could still hear his thoughts, even though he is in a human form.

As usual, Moon, who seemed to receive them loud and clear, replied with his less-distorted voice in his mind. _**Then shall we continue our little walk? The night is still young.**_

The young blond nodded his head before they continued their small walk around the Loveless Avenue, sharing the apple occasionally. Both of them took small bite off of the tasty fruit until nothing was left.

'It's a pity that we can't see the stars here. If not, I think tonight is the most beautiful and enjoyable night that I have ever had, excluded the Zack's party of course.' Cloud said as he took a few steps away from the auburn hair man who stood near the fountain.

'No, I see a bright little star here.' Moon suddenly informed him.

'Huh? Really? Where?' The blond almost shouted in excitement as he looked up at the dark cloudy night sky, trying to catch a glimpse of the star that his friend had mentioned.

'It's right- Here.' The auburn hair man said as he placed his hand over the defy-gravity blond hair of a surprised Cloud.

Cloud took exactly ten seconds to register what his friend had just said before he removed Moon's hand off of his head and muttered a small "idiot" as he turned his face, flushed with embarrassment, away from the amber orbs.

'I'll take that as a "thank you".' Moon told the blond with a bright smile. Cloud tried to look as if he is mad at the summon creature, but it failed miserably as a smile crept onto his angelic face and giggled loudly.

'You should smile and laugh more sometimes.' The auburn hair man sighed as he brushed away a few stray of blond hair over the cerulean eyes. 'Your eyes look more beautiful when you do that.'

'Thank you.' Cloud breathed as he stared into those golden eyes. Those eyes looked more beautiful than they used to be, it's mesmerizing. Suddenly he felt a strange urge to kiss Moon, to feel those lips against his. So the young blond slowly leaned up and Moon reacted the same way he does, leaned down to close the tiny little distance between their lips, but before either of them could even brushed each others lips, a loud bell rang above them and they quickly pulled themselves away from the other. The spiky hair teen looked down at his feet shyly as his friend closed his eyes to recollect himself.

'You should go back now, it is midnight already.' Moon told Cloud, who simply nodded his head, as he looked up to the small clock over the Loveless Avenue.

Then the auburn hair man placed his gloved hand over the cheek of the blond and he leaned forward to place a soft kiss over his forehead before he whispered: 'Good night, Cloud.'

As soon as he had finished to pronounce those words, his body turned into dozens of red Lifestreams threads that were absorbed by the red orb hung over the boy's neck. Cloud stood there stunned for a moment, then his lips tilted upward and he bid Moon a good night before he walked towards the Shinra building with the "LOVELESS" in his hand.

* * *

**Too much writer's blocks these days, so I'm sorry for the delay. Also please review and tell me what do you think about this chapter. I thought that the ending is a little... I don't know... Chessy maybe?**

**Author's note: And the look of Moon was inspired by the hair style of both Yuna of Final Fantasy X-2 and a little bit from Kuja of Final Fantasy IX, a little bit of a mix of both.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. I hope all of you will enjoy this new chapter.**

* * *

You _hate_ Him or You _love_ Him?

Gloomy. The atmosphere in the cafeteria, which is usually the place where cheerful chatting and laughter rang without any type of control, is now _extremely_ gloomy and this sudden change of atmosphere was because of a silver hair sulking teen, beside him were two 2nd Class SOLDIERs, Zack and Kunsel.

Zack had _never ever_ want to admit defeat in his whole life, but his rather positive and optimist side doesn't seemed to have any sort of effect on his little companion and as the time passed, all the negativity in the air is starting to suffocate him and the other occupants in the cafeteria, he'll definitely crack if this continued.

'AH! SERIOUSLY KADAJ! STOP SULKING ALREADY! I CAN'T EVEN EAT MY LUNCH WITH ALL YOUR NEGATIVE ENERGY IN THE AIR!' Kunsel suddenly screamed out as he slammed his utensils on the metal table, but he shut up when he saw the raven hair teen glaring at him and resumed his slow chewing process on his food.

'I'm not sulking, I'm worry.' Kadaj muttered under his breath as he continued to stare at the plate of food in front of him.

'Worry? About what?' Zack asked curiously.

'Nii-san.' Kadaj answered as he poked his vegetables with his fork.

'You are always worrying about him whenever he is 5 feet away from your radar.' Kunsel pointed out and earned an angry glare from the youngster.

'You know he is just telling you the truth Kadaj. Maybe you're being a little over-protective these days.' Zack explained calmly.

'I'm not being over-protective. It's just that Nii-san was acting very strange these days.' The silver hair teen told them before he sighed tiredly.

The raven hair teen ran his hand through his hair and thought for a moment, and then he asked: 'How strange is it?'

'LOVELESS.' This small word had caused the two 2nd Class SOLDIERs to turn their head and cracked their necks in the process, but their faces, or just Zack's since Kunsel was wearing his helmet permanently, wore the same shock expression. 'Can you believe it? Nii-san had never even touched that book before and now he is reading it day and night as if his life depends on it!'

'You're joking, right?' Zack asked as he rubbed his sore neck, not believing what Kadaj had just said, but now that he thinks about it, Cloud did recited the Act IV without a single fault, still he can't just jump to conclusion and placed the young and oh-so-innocent blond in the list of Loveless' freaks! 'I mean maybe he is just reading it out of boredom or something.'

'Still, even if Nii-san did it because he was bored, there is still another thing that worries me.' Kadaj stopped pocking his vegetables and put down his fork before he continued. 'Nii-san was... I don't know... He is... Well, a little too happy...'

'And that's a bad thing?' Kunsel asked, not understanding the meaning of Kadaj on Cloud's odd behavior.

'Yes.' The silver hair boy answered firmly. 'I don't think Loveless is a happy play, it's more of a tragic one, so why Nii-san kept smiling every time he reads it?'

'That's really strange indeed.' The raven hair SOLDIER muttered as he scratched his chin in thought, then a smirk formed on his face. 'Oh I see now.'

'What?' Kadaj and Kunsel asked together.

'Are you sure that Cloud is really reading the Loveless or is he just looking at _one_ particular spot in the book?' Zack asked instead of answering their question.

The silver hair teen stared confusingly at Zack, but the 2nd Class SOLDIER quickly catches on the meaning of the "one" and a grin surface on his face.

'Oh, I get it. Plan R.C.S.?' Kunsel asked as he flipped open his cell phone and dialed the number to the only person who can help them accomplish this secret task.

'Can someone tell what the hell is going on?' An irritated Kadaj asked out loud as he glared at his two friends.

'Oh, you'll see. Commencing Plan "**R**eveal. **C**loud.** S**ecrets!"' Zack shouted as he punched into the air. The punch that the raven hair teen had thrown seemed to have pierced the core of the negativity in the air and soon everyone in the cafeteria started their usual loud and happy chatter.

***

It was quiet and peaceful in Room 3C, Cloud and Kadaj's room, and there are only small sounds of turning pages, pen scrapping papers and shuffling sheets. The young blond had spent most of his free times to read the Loveless and to take some notes, or to be more exact he is trying to figure out what is the prophecy's meaning. He had, so far, figured that the prologue was stating a war, he had thought about the war of Shinra against Wutai, but he wasn't extremely sure about it, because of the word "beasts" in the sentence. Could it be a war with monsters? Or people who act just like a beast? So many questions was formed in Cloud's mind that he had decided to write them on the paper and tried to find the right piece to place in this ancient puzzle.

Moon will talk to him sometimes, but he mostly remained in silence to let the young blond some times to figure out the answers to his own questions which Cloud really felt grateful for sheer quietness and his warm presence next to him. Still, he felt unsettled and that something is wrong with the black phoenix.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Cloud quickly put his pile of notes into the table's drawer before he went to open the door and was surprised to see Zack standing in front of him instead of Kadaj, since the silver hair teen couldn't stand being more than thirty minutes away from him, not that he really minds, but it was a little strange.

'Hi Zack!' The blond greeted the raven hair teen as he stepped back to let his friend entered his room. 'Come in! What brings you here today?'

'Oh, I haven't seen you for a long time, so I came to check up on you.' Zack told his young friend casually as he slipped into the room while Cloud closed the door, his blue mako eyes spotted the opened leather-bound book on the table. 'So you're reading Loveless?'

'Yeah, I'm kind of boring these days.' The blond stuttered as he went to his table and closed the book before he turned around to face Zack and gestured to him to sit on the bed. 'Oh yeah, have you seen Kadaj when you come here? I haven't seen him since morning.'

'Kadaj?' Zack muttered and rubbed his chin in thought before he shook his head. 'Nope I haven't seen, maybe he is just training by himself today.'

'Maybe.' Cloud repeated the word, but he had the strange feeling that something mischief is going on and Kadaj is part of it, hopefully not something that include flashy stuff.

***

Too bad that Cloud assumption was right because at this very moment somewhere six floors above his head, two persons stood next a small device with dozens of buttons on a table, a red hair Turk was yelling furiously and glaring at a certain silver hair teen: 'KADAJ! I TOLD YOU TO STOP PRESSING THE BUTTONS!'

'Hey! I'm just trying to make the volume louder! I can't hear a single thing they are saying!' Kadaj answered nonchalantly as his fingers tip-toed to one of the flashing buttons, but they are quickly snapped away by an angry red head.

'THAT'S BECAUSE THEY AREN'T EVEN TALKING YET!' Reno yelled as he swung his arms up dramatically, he still can't believe that Kadaj had won in the drinking game and he is now a _slave_ to the SOLDIER for a whole year! 'GAIA! WHY DID I LOSE TO YOU! OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN SHINRA! I HAD TO LOSE TO A KID!'

'Hey! I'm sixteen! Teenager, not kid!' The silver hair teen shouted angrily.

'Ssshhh! Stop yelling you two, Zack is making his moves now.' Kunsel told them in a low voice as he adjusted the volume of the radio, which is connected to a small microphone that was attached and hidden in Zack's glove, and the two other accomplices of this _mission_ leaned forward to hear what the people in Room 3C are saying.

'_Kadaj is more worry these days than he is used to._' Zack's voice spoke through the radio.

'_Now that you mention it, he seemed a little... I don't know... Stress, maybe?_' Cloud said with a hint of worry in his voice.

'Of course I'm stress Nii-san! You aren't acting like yourself!' Kadaj felt a small tap on his shoulder, but ignored it. 'I mean you are spacing out and all!' Another tap on shoulder, he ignored it again. 'Usually you are very concentrated on everything.' This time when he felt someone touching his shoulder again, he flung his hand around and snapped Reno's face. '_Will_ stop tapping me? It's freaking annoying!'

Reno who was covering his stinging nose told Kadaj: 'I didn't even touch you, you goddamn idiot!'

When they heard someone cleared his throat behind them, the trio turned around at the same time, their eyes went wide and a busted-it look on their face. Behind them stood Angeal, who stared at them amusingly and Sephiroth, Kadaj quickly pointed his finger at Reno and said: 'It's his idea!'

The red head pointed back at the SOLDIER 3rd Class and said: 'He asked for it.'

Then all eyes darted towards Kunsel who laughed nervously as he stuttered: 'It's just a... Tiny little... Private mission.'

Luckily for the trio, Zack's next question had caught everyone's attention in the room, so they might be able to escape whatever punishments that the two firsts were thinking, and all of them stared at the radio with great interest.

***

'So what do you think about your idol?' Zack asked.

'Sephiroth? He is a nice person.' Cloud simply answered, but when he saw the raven hair SOLDIER's that's-all-look, his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. 'What else do you want me to say, that I consider him a god and all those stuffs that his fans said?'

'No, but can't you be a little more specific?' Zack replied meekly.

'Specific.' The blond repeated as he looked down and scratched his chin in thought. What else could he say about Sephiroth, the great General and the Demon of Wutai? 'Well I could say that he is smart and collective, a fearless leader that could take on anything in his path...' _But... _'I feel sorry for him...'

The occupant and the _un_-occupant of the room, except the man in question, "huh" at the same time. Cloud, ignoring his friend surprised reaction completely, continued as if he hadn't been interrupted: 'He was always wearing that emotionless mask in front of everybody and couldn't even relax for a second... When he had troubles, he had no one to truly turn to. There is only... Himself... The sadness, the hatred... He had kept all those emotions in him for so long, that it had gotten used to them and he hardly ever revealed them anyone anymore...'

A heavy silence fell among the listeners, they all felt like they were at someone's funeral and a single noise could destroy the silent respect to the person.

'But I'm really happy!' Cloud suddenly exclaimed cheerfully and everyone shouted "what" aloud, except Sephiroth whose eyes only widen in shock. 'Didn't you notice?'

Zack shook his head, while the others stared at each other, thinking that the other knew what the young blond had meant before they turned their gazes to their man in question who gave the look that said he doesn't know what the answer is.

'Sephiroth had showed more of his emotions these days.' The blond spiky boy told his friend with his brightest smile. 'Not like Kadaj of course, but he is showing to those who are closed to him what he is feeling. This is already a great beginning, right?'

Everyone was stunned by what the blond had just said and their respect for the boy grew tenfold. Zack was the first one to show his affection, he jumped on Cloud and hugged him like a teddy bear as he shouted: 'My little Cloudy had finally grown up!'

***

'HEY! LET GO OF NII-SAN!' Kadaj shouted at the radio as if the black hair teen could hear him before he dashed towards the door, but was caught by Reno and Kunsel and was pulled back to the table.

'Calm down Kadaj!' The helmeted SOLDIER told the struggling youngster while trying to maintain a firm grip on him just like his Turk companion. The struggle had only stopped when a loud "OUCH!" came out of the radio and the long cursing of the blond.

'_ZACK! YOU IDIOT! WHY CAN'T YOU ACT A LITTLE MORE MATURE?!_' Cloud screamed out.

'_You're cruel Cloudy! Angeal pushed me gentler than you do._' Zack whined.

'_SHUT UP YOU IDIOT! I don't get how Angeal could stand you jumping on him once a while! Geez!_' The young blond said coldly.

'Ha! Serve you right Zack!' The silver hair boy immediately received four hits on the skull. 'OUCH! THAT HURTS!'

'You should really learn to respect your seniors.' Kunsel told the teen fumingly before he turned his attention back to the radio and so do the others as Cloud spoke once again: '_But I had to admit that he really have a lot of patience and determination to train you. At least he knows more than I do how beat some reasoning into someone's head. One day, I might have to ask him how he does that._'

It might not be the greatest compliment in the world, but Angeal thought that it is already enough for Zack to be proud of being his apprentice.

***

_**For someone who is mature, you're acting a little like a spoil child there.**_ Moon told Cloud mentally and the blond could have sworn that he felt the black phoenix smirking in amusement inside his head. _**Don't you think your words are a little harsh?**_

_Shut up! Zack is not a that BIG idiot, he knows what I mean anyway. _When he heard the light chuckle of his winged friend, he was about yelled at him, but he got interrupted by Zack's next question: 'Ok, then what do you think about Genesis?'

Cloud opened his mouth to speak, but he quickly closed it as he pounded on this question. What does he thinks about Genesis? Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't really know the auburn hair man. He is different from Sephiroth, that's for sure. The silver hair General is almost like Kadaj, on a different level of immatureness, but both of them wanted to have someone that's like a brother, a person to whom to return to when they are lost...

Genesis, on the other hand, came from the rich Rhapsodos family who is the landlord of Banora village. He had a family to return to, unlike the two silver hair SOLDIERs, but is it really enough for someone who wishes to prove himself stronger than the great General himself? He always seemed distant from others...

_Distant... From the others..._ Those words reverberated in his mind as he stared down at the floor. Cloud suddenly found himself sitting in his room at Nibelheim again, watching the kids from his window, thinking how immature they were...

'He's just like me...' The spiky hair blond spoke those words unconsciously. He said them so softly that almost every listener hadn't been able to hear them at all even with their enhanced hearing, especially for those who were only listening on the radio. 'At first, I didn't notice it, but now, I see the similarities between us.'

'We were both distant from others, always hiding in our room, just watching them... Because, we don't understand the people and we feared of the world that revolves around us. No one can be trusted... No one can be count on... There's just ourselves in our lives...' Cloud said as he looked down at his hands. 'Alone... We're always alone and self-centered... Everything around us is silent.'

'I guess that's why I never like it when you and Kadaj are being too loud or dragged me to some crowded place, it's always noisy. Yet, when everything had finally calmed down, somehow I wanted to hear some kind of sound or someone's voice.' The blond continued, then he remembered all those times he had spent with Moon whenever he is alone, a tiny smile curved his lips at the thought of these precious memories.

This didn't go unnoticed by Zack who jumped up in victory and shouted with glee: 'I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE! I KNEW IT!'

'ZACK FAIR! YOU JERK!' Cloud growled as he punched the raven hair man who had simply evaded the fiery attack with grace and jumped around the room chanting "Cloud's in love!" with the blond chasing after him. 'YOU ARE DEAD! **D-E-A-D**! DEAD! ZACK FAIR!'

Six floors above them, the quartet had extreme difficulty to stop a rampaging silver hair teen from leaving their little _observation_ room and asked the angry blond whether he is or not truly in love.

Unknown to both sides was that someone had heard this whole conversation outside of Cloud's room, with great interest too, even though they didn't spoke really loud, his enhanced five senses were almost sharper than Sephiroth himself. With a small satisfying smile on his face, he quietly walked away without being notice by anybody.

* * *

**Ok, I have made this small chapter to tell what Cloud is feeling right now. Then I will move to the action part of the story. The CLIMAX is finally approaching! Please review and tell me what you thinking about this chapter or if you need more explanations. Also, I thank everyone who had written a review for my story, they really encouraged me to continue my story! THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYONE!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Ladies and gentlemen, the CLIMAX had finally arrived!**

* * *

The Truth

'WHAT!!!' Zack Fair screamed out to the top of his lungs during his sparring with an annoyed Cloud Strife who is trying to chop his head off with his broad sword, because the blond hadn't forgotten what kind of rumor the porcupine hair teen had tried to spread and he had been annoying him ever since, and then there is his very first mission coming up. 'YOU'RE GOING TO WUTAI WITH GENESIS?!'

Three weeks ago, the day after their little _talk_, the crimson Commander called him and asked him if he might be interested to accompany him to Wutai for the next battle mission, he accepted it but since it wasn't really confirm yet, so he had kind of forgot it. Then last night, Genesis had called to tell him that they will depart in 3600 hours and he was really happy about it. His only mistake was that the first person he had announced to, it was none other than his best friend, Zack Fair, who is, probably, imaging the most gruesome and bloody deaths that might happen to him in Wutai...

Then there is Kadaj, who had been questioning him for three whole days about if he is in love or not, and then he had simply stopped his questions assault and had started to distance himself from him. Probably mad at him for not telling him his secrets, but how do you explain to someone that you have a summon creature as a friend since you have join SOLDIER and that you had slightly developed some feeling for it?

That is the reason why Cloud is now chasing after the raven hair Second Class around the training room, trying to silent him by chopping his head off, not exactly like really chopping his head off, but at least _knocked _it off.

'Nii-san.' A smooth voice called out.

Cloud looked over his shoulder to see Kadaj, in his 3rd Class uniform minus the helmet and the katana, standing next to the door and he yelled "just a second!" before he punched Zack's head swiftly and hard, not enough to make a concussion, but it will be enough to form a large bump on his head.

'What's up Kadaj?' Cloud asked, leaving a whining raven hair SOLDIER behind, as he threw his sword back to magnetic strap on his back and made his way to his silver hair friend.

'I want to show you something, Nii-san.' Kadaj spoke those words softly, then he grabbed Cloud's arm in a tight grip and ran down the hallway.

'Wait! Where are we going?' The blond SOLDIER asked as he tried to keep up the same pace as Kadaj without tripping. It was only after a few minutes of non-stop running in different corridors and set of staircases did the silver hair teen let loose of his hold over the arm.

'Hurry up, Nii-san!' Kadaj called out with a tiny smile. Cloud's brow frowned, Kadaj was acting strange, but not only that, his features seemed... A little off... Everything about him suddenly looked darker than usual...

Before Cloud could think of a reason for the bizarre change of his "brother", his cell phone started to ring and he slowed down a little to quickly pick up the call: 'Strife here.'

'_SOLDIER Cloud Strife._' The other person on the other line said. The voice is easily recognized as the crimson Commander's.

'Yes, Commander Rhapsodos.' Cloud answered as he followed Kadaj towards another set of staircase.

'_Since you are coming to Wutai, I will need to give you the necessary information for our operation, could you come to my office right now?_' Genesis told him and the blond could hear some papers shuffling on the other side.

'Sorry sir, but I'm with Kadaj right now, could I come later?' The blond SOLDIER asked as he continued to follow his friend up the stairs.

'_Where are you?_' The crimson Commander asked.

_That's a good question_. Cloud thought and stopped to look around him for some kind of sign that will tell him on which floor he is right now, but when he saw the large number "67" on the wall, he felt his blood ran cold, because this level belongs to the Science Department where they did numerous experiences, from beast to human, the mere thought of it sent shivers down to his spine.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down as he said: 'I'm at the level 6-'

Before he could finish his sentence, the line was cut off and there isn't a dial tone, he removed the phone from his ear to look at the screen which was completely black out. _Strange..._

'Nii-san.' Cloud looked up to see the smiling silver hair boy waiting for him next to an opened door that leads to the specimen's containments, which was supposed to be close and inaccessible except for the scientist! 'Come on, we're almost there. You aren't afraid, are you?'

Something about the tone of Kadaj scared Cloud, but what it was, he doesn't know, nor does he want to know. It scared him at the thought that the boy who had known for six years was now enjoying taunting him.

He slowly climbed up the rest of the stairs and entered the containment laboratory with Kadaj in front of him. They walked through the hallway to large opening where there are boxes of different sizes and two large containment units, one was made in glass that had a platform that could ascend to the upper level and the other was built in complete metal. Cloud stopped next to metal one, while Kadaj continued walking without turning back, and peered through the small glass window on the metallic door for a second, his eyes widen in horror at what laid inside, a headless life form floating in some kind of red glowing liquid.

When the blond jerked back, the corpse disappeared and the whole place was filled with screams and voices: '_What the &#&*$ is this headless thing doing here?!_'

'_JENOVA?_'

'_**Mother...**_'

'_You came..._'

'_Why did you kill the townspeople?_'

'_**Let's go to Promise Land together, Mother...**_'

Cloud fell on his knees clutching his head in pain, he felt as if someone had just pressed a white-hot wire on his skull. _SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!_

_**Cloud.**_ Moon's voice gently resounded in his mind just like a single drop of water dripping down into an agitated pond, clearing everything that disturbed his thoughts.

'What's all that?' The blond asked trembling slightly as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead and get back up. He expected that Moon had an answer to these sudden _visions_, but the summon creature remained silent in his mind. Letting out a heavy sigh, he followed the same path the silver hair boy took until he reached a small elevator and quickly got in, feeling a little unease.

On the upper floor, in between the glass container that's connected to the level below and the door to the observatory room stood Kadaj.

'Kadaj. What the hell is going on? Why do you want to bring me here?' Cloud questioned as he walked towards him.

When he was just behind him, the silver hair SOLDIER turned around to grab his collar and shoulder, pulling him down and roughly pressing their lips together. Cloud was frozen in shock, giving Kadaj the opportunity to slip pass his defenses and invaded his mouth. The blond immediately began to struggle and tried to pull back from the wild kiss.

'Kadaj-' Cloud stammered when he had managed to pull free, but his mouth was quickly covered by the other. The more he tried to break free, the more persistent the other became, as anger began to boil in chest.

Finally when he broke free for the second time, instead of trying to calmly talk some senses into Kadaj like he is used to whenever the slightly immature teen was misbehaving, Cloud angrily raised his hand and slapped the boy hard on the face, causing him to stumble a few steps back.

'I- I'm sorry...' The blond SOLDIER whispered regretfully as he stared down at the hand he used to slap his ever first friend. He felt his throat tighter when the boy suddenly laughed humorlessly.

'What does he have that I don't?' Kadaj asked his silver hair shield his face from Cloud, so he could hardly guess what he was feeling.

'What do you mean?' _Who is "He"?_

'What the hell does he have that I don't?' Kadaj yelled out angrily and a dark shock wave burst out and threw Cloud against the metallic wall. 'Why do you let him kiss you and not me?'

_What? What is he- _Suddenly everything seemed clearer to Cloud when he thought back at the almost lips-to-lips contact with Moon at the Fountain Place. _Did he saw us?_

'Wait Kadaj! We didn't-' But he was cut off by the enraged teen.

'I thought you love me more than anyone!' Kadaj shouted as the green shades in his eyes darken. 'I knew I should have trusted Mother! _She_ is right about you! You just toy with me, by using my feelings!'

'WHAT? NO! I DIDN'T! LISTEN TO ME!' Cloud shouted desperately as he took a step towards the distressed boy.

'DON'T YOU COME ANY CLOSER TO ME, YOU TRAITOR!' The silver hair teen growled as he released another shock wave, but this time, Cloud was ready and a thin ice wall was formed in between them to shield the blond. However it wasn't enough solid enough to completely stop the wave and was broken into millions of shards, Cloud quickly brought his arms up to shield himself as best as he could from the sharp projectiles.

When he lowered his arms, he saw the black aura around Kadaj started to envelop him and turned his clothes into complete black leather from head to toe, covering almost every part of his body except his face, before the rest of it formed a double-bladed katana.

'Kadaj...?' Cloud said his friend's name, that now sounded foreign to him.

Faster than the SOLDIER thought that the silver hair swordsman could be, Kadaj dashed towards him with his katana ready to behead him, Cloud pulled out his broadsword in time to parry the upcoming attack, but this had only angered his opponent.

The young blond easily parried every slash and dodged every thrust that's coming for his blood, he felt as if he knew all of the swordsman's moves and his body moved on his own to block or evade the attacks.

Their sword dance continued like that, until the blond saw an opening and was about to strike back, but hesitated at the last second, remembering that this is not like in training and that the sword he had in his hand wasn't a wooden sword. His hesitation had given Kadaj the chance to cut two large gashes on his left arm and he quickly stumbled back a few steps to keep his balance.

The silver hair teen was about to finish off Cloud in one blow, but a red blur came out of no where and stood in front of the blond to block the deadly strike with a ruby red sword.

'Genesis...' Cloud's eyes widen in surprise as the Commander pushed Kadaj back.

'You're lucky that I have come just in time.' Genesis said before he looked over his shoulder. 'Are you alright?'

Cloud looked down at his wounded arm where the gashes had closed up due to his enhanced healing ability, but instead of newly healed flesh, there black rash-like scars over his arm. _What the hell?_ Genesis' eyes narrowed at the horrible sight of the arm and muttered under his breath: 'Geostigma.'

'I did it, Mother.' Both SOLDIERs looked up to stare disbelievingly at the silver hair swordsman who is now giggling with glee and his eyes were burning with madness. 'I did it, Mother. I had given the traitor your mark.'

'You did well, Kadaj. Mother is very proud of you.' Someone said behind the silver hair teen. Then out of the shadow, two men walked to the sides of Kadaj, one with long-length silver hair and was slightly taller, the other had short hair with a muscular body, both them wore identical black leather clothes like the swordsman and they had all the same eyes.

'I haven't heard Mother laugh this happy for a long time.' The short hair man said to no one in particular.

'Here.' The long silver hair stranger handed Kadaj a handful of what looked like wet silver hair. 'This is Mother's gift for you.'

The wicked glint in Kadaj's eyes glowed brighter as he took the hair in his hand and looked at the two SOLDIERs saying: 'I'm going to show you my Reunion.'

Cloud didn't know what the Reunion is or cared, because his "brother's" safety is what's most important to him right now and he had a feeling that something really terrible is going to happen to Kadaj if he doesn't get the hair away from him. He quickly dashed towards the teen, ignoring the shouts of warnings of the crimson Commander.

When he was only a few steps away from the boy, Kadaj pressed the hair that had turned into an orb of black mist and his body immediately absorbed it as his face was contorted in pain.

'NO! KAD-' Cloud was quickly silent by a long blade impaled in his right shoulder and his sword slipped out of his loosen grip as he looked down at the somehow familiar sword before he looked up to meet the cold green gaze of the swordsman, but they were no longer Kadaj's. 'Sephiroth?' _No, he isn't General Sephiroth... Sephiroth isn't evil. What the hell is going here?!_

'It's been a while, Cloud.' The silver hair swordsman spoke in a soft silky voice lanced with venom which made the young blond shivered in fear. 'No, not Cloud. You are simply a mindless nobody.'

'JENOVA!' Cloud heard Genesis screamed behind him and the swordsman quickly pulled out his sword from his shoulder to leap back from the bloody red rapier of his opponent.

Genesis caught the young blond before he fell to the floor with one hand and the other holding his rapier tightly, Cloud winced slightly when his wounded shoulder was pressed against the Commander's.

Before either side could do anything, the red orb hung on the neck of the blond glowed brightly and a black phoenix shot out of it, sending a wave of fire towards the two strangers and the silver hair swordsman, who had simply cut off the fire with one swing of his sword.

'Moon...' Cloud whispered softly, but it was loud enough for both the phoenix and the Commander to hear it. Moon looked over its wings and looked deep into the blue sapphire eyes of the wounded boy.

_**It's alright Cloud... Everything's going to be alright... I promise... **_The black winged creature told the young SOLDIER in his mind as it turned its attention back to the three enemies. _**It's going to be over soon...**_

'So you have finally appeared G.' The evil Sephiroth said nonchalantly before a smirk was plastered on his face. 'Or should I say, Genesis Rhapsodos, Gaia's secret knight.'

'Genesis?' The blond repeated the name as he looked at the auburn hair man and the black phoenix back and forth, everyone in the room seemed to know what was going on, except him.

_**That is my true name and this is... **_Black feathers swirled around the winged beast for a moment before it was replaced by a man with shoulder-length auburn hair with mako-blue glowing eyes, wearing a deep crimson coat with the left half covered in straps, a black shoulder-guard on the right side and a single elegant black wings on his left shoulder. 'My true form...' Moon finished as he looked back at the shocked blond with almost sad eyes before he looked away again and a long bloody red rapier appeared out of thin air in his hand. 'Take care of him.'

Genesis simply nodded his head in acknowledgement as he picked up the forgotten words on the floor and pulled Cloud, who was too shocked to do anything than stared at his used to be winged friend, away from the upcoming battle, settling him on the wall and tried to stop the bleeding from the half healed wound by putting a certain level of pressure on it.

'Oh, I never thought you would regain your strength this fast with that many seals over you.' Sephiroth told the winged man truthfully. 'But for how long could you keep up with me?'

Then swords clashed and the two most powerful being in the world fought for the fate of Gaia's future, but none really mattered for Cloud, for he only cared about his friend's safety above everything, even the planet itself.

For several times, Moon was able to counter-attack with one of his generated swords when he parried the attacks of Sephiroth, but he had only made a couple of small scratches on his enemy who also did the same amount of damages and both injuries were quickly healed. This battle might end up as a tie, but when the silver hair swordsman jumped away from the ruby sword, dozen of generated ones appeared around him and slammed against his waist, hands and legs, pinning him in the air for a moment before engulfing him in a flaming orb.

Bright fire was formed around the fist of Moon, whose face was void of emotion, as he prepared for the final strike, but was interrupted by Cloud who yelled: 'NO! STOP! MOON!'

Distracted by the pleading tone of the young blond, Moon released his fireball that went off target and hit the wall behind it, creating a large hole to the night sky. An alarm rang loudly in the air. At that very moment, Sephiroth broke free from the fire by cutting through it with a sword wave and sent two more waves towards the winged man who lifted his rapier up to block the attack, but they were so powerful that they had flung him against the metallic wall which collapsed upon the strong impact.

'MOON!' Cloud shouted while Genesis was holding him back from running to the sides of the fallen figure on the wall before he turned his gaze towards the silver hair swordsman. 'STOP THIS KADAJ! THIS HAD ALREADY GONE TOO FAR!'

'Kadaj?' Sephiroth repeated and then he started to laugh manically. 'Oh, you mean the Remnant that Mother used to give me back my body.'

The spiky hair teen's eyes widen and shook his head, not believing a single word that was said, as the man continued with a smile: 'Kadaj, as you call him, no longer exists. His existence had cease when mine was reborn, but I'll tell you this, if it comforts you. He will lay forever dormant inside of me. No matter how many times you call to him, he will never answer, because he couldn't hear you at all.'

'Give him back.' Cloud whispered after a few minutes as he balled his hand into fist and the other went to clench the hilt of his sword tightly. Cold anger poured into his chest as the Lifestreams around him started to merge with his. 'GIVE HIM BACK!'

His cry had triggered his power over the ice element, a burst of icy wind whipped across the room and freezing everything on its path. Luckily for Genesis, his natural fire element power protect him from the outburst of Cloud, so he got only knocked back a few steps, instead of being frozen into a human icicle.

'GIVE KADAJ BACK!' The blond yelled to the three silver hair men as a cold hurricane blew towards them and the floor beneath his feet was covered with thick ice that slowly spread around turning the entire sector into an ice cavern.

'Don't you see it, Cloud? I'm Kadaj and Kadaj is me, but in a certain way he is not me. More like an illusion. And you my dear Cloud had simply fallen in love with this pathetic illusion.' Sephiroth told the angry blond as he sent a hurricane of his own which clashed against the other, canceling out each other.

The young SOLDIER ignored what the man had said to him and just concentrated on trying to land a hit on the agile swordsman with the sharp ice shards that he had conjured up from the cold air. He was so concentrated that he didn't notice the two strangers were activating one of their own spell, he only spotted them when they had release their magic.

'NO YOU DON'T!' Genesis shouted as he jumped in front of Cloud and slashed down vertically on the magic attack with his rapier filled with glowing runes and engulfed in flame. The collision of the two powers caused the thick ice beneath the feet of the auburn hair man to break, causing him to lose his balance for a moment which Sephiroth used to his advantage.

The silver hair swordsman thrust his katana towards Genesis, who lifted his glowing blade to block the attack, but this is what the man had wanted, the long blade of the katana slid through the fire and cut his left shoulder. Not caring about the wound he just received, Genesis pushed Sephiroth back with all his strength and Cloud made huge stalagmites of ice burst out of the floor, trying to impale his enemy.

The swordsman leaped back a few steps and was about to charge again, but he stopped abruptly as a disembodied voice echoed inside of everybody's mind.

_**My children, return for now. Our Reunion shall begin at where it had all started.**_

'Yes, Mother.' The three silver hair men answered together.

Then Sephiroth turned his gaze on the blond and snapped his fingers. A veil of black feathers swirled beside him, when it settled down, it revealed an unconscious Moon encased in ice. The silver hair swordsman told the two SOLDIERs: 'I think Mother will love this gift that I'll be offering to her. Don't you think so?'

'MOON!' Cloud shouted as he ran towards the frozen figure.

'NO! CLOUD!' Genesis yelled as he extended his hand to catch the boy's shoulder, but they were each suddenly surrounded by a circle of light, isolating in their own circle. Cloud was only a few inches away from his guardian, but everything quickly faded away as a bright light took over his sight. Then everyone in the room vanished without a single trace, leaving behind only the results of an unfinished battle.

***

Rain poured down at the small blond figure on the ground outside of a forest, Cloud shifted on the muddy ground before he opened tiredly before he let out a low groan, feeling every part of body was burning in pain, especially his left arm. He slowly got up in sitting position and looked around him, expecting to see his friends, but he is alone.

His head dipped down as the rain get rid of mud on him, then he lifted his head up and let out hollowed scream that echoed through the trees, disturbing the flying habitants in them and scaring them so much that they flew away.

'GIVE THEM BACK! GIVE KADAJ AND MOON BACK TO ME!' Cloud yelled at the sky above him as if the people who had taken what he treasured the most in the world would _willingly_ bring his two closest friends back to him. Soon, everything went still and silence as crystal tears mixed with the cold falling rain.

* * *

**I have finally finish my new chapter just before the exams! I hope everyone had enjoy this chapter and please review to tell me what you think about it! The next chapter might take a little longer, because I have exams coming up.**

**Author's note: Also, I was thinking about writing another Cloud/Genesis story after this one, but I'm stuck with two ideas and couldn't pick one, so if any of you are interested for another Cloud/Genesis story, please take a vote at the poll in my profile! I thank every single people who reads my story! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Enjoy another good chapter!**

* * *

What do you fight for?

'WHAT?!' Zack Fair exclaimed disbelievingly at Lazard, while Angeal and Sephiroth remained passive from the order that Zack and Kunsel had just received. 'Capture Cloud, Kadaj and Genesis and bring them back in custody?!'

'Yes. It is a direct order from the President himself.' The Director of SOLDIER answered calmly as he readjusted his glass.

'But... Why? What did they do? I mean I saw Cloud and Kadaj together and Commander Rhapsodos was in office just an hour or two before they had gone missing! They couldn't have planned something and executed it that quickly!' Kunsel tried to reason with the Director.

'They betray this company and if it wasn't because of their SOLDIER reputations, the consequence of their actions might have been death. They have already been gone for three days, if they don't return soon, I'm afraid that the company, under the pressure of the Science Department, will band them as an enormous threat and will order us or the Turks to dispose of them.' The blond hair Director explained to two Seconds before turned his attention towards the two silent Firsts. 'Angeal, you will accompany Zack and secure the Gongaga region, while Kunsel will lead a group to secure the Nibelheim region. Sephiroth, you will take over Genesis place in the Wutai operation. The choppers are waiting for all of you right now. Good luck and dismiss.'

Everyone turned to leave, but before they went into the corridor, Lazard added: 'No matter what happen, they are still your friends, right?' The SOLDIERs looked back at their Director surprisingly. 'If so, then I believe that none of the laws in Shinra matter when it's about saving a friend. Just be careful.'

All four SOLDIERs nodded their head and left the office without another word. While waiting for the elevator, Zack asked his mentor: 'Angeal, what is going?' The raven hair man didn't answer. 'Cloud and Kadaj really want to get into SOLDIER. They wouldn't just abandon their dreams like that. And Genesis-'

'I don't know Zack.' Angeal said those words softly. He seemed to say them more to himself than to the spiky hair teen. 'I really wish I know what's happening than you do, pup.'

Even though the First had used his most popular nickname, Zack couldn't find the side of him that usually protest childishly at the mention of the word "pup" or "puppy". He is too worried about his two best friends to care about such small things.

'You don't need to worry so much.' A calm and almost cold voice told them. Everyone turned their attention to their great General. 'Cloud always has the tendency of a lone wolf. You never know when it will come or when it will bite you back.'

'Huh? What do you mean?' Zack asked not understanding the last part of the sentence.

Sephiroth chuckled lightly as he replied: 'It's a feeling that I had whenever Cloud's fighting. My instinct tells me not to let my guard down whenever I'm close to him, especially when he is in a battle. Something tells me that he is more than powerful than he looks. I'm sure that he'll come back here, no matter what it takes.'

The spiky hair SOLDIER didn't what to say as they all stepped into the elevator, so he just contemplated the view of sunrise through the glass of the elevator. _Cloud, if you are out there somewhere, please don't get yourself kill or I'll kill you myself._

***

Thousands of miles away from Midgar, in a small village called Gongaga which is located in the middle of a thick and hot jungle, a couple was looking after a sick-looking blond on the bed with wet cold cloth on his forehead.

'Poor child.' The woman with grey brown hair muttered to herself as she took the wet cloth off and damped it in a bucket of cold water, while her husband, a thin tall man with black hair with a few grey hair strands, was removing the bandages that are tainted black over the boy's arm. 'What kind of monster did this to him?'

'It's not a monster who did this.' Her husband replied calmly as he put the new bandages over the black rash-like skin. 'Something is hurting him from the inside. It's probably a disease of some sort.'

The blond groaned softly and opened his eyes, looking around unfocused, he asked them: 'Where am I?'

'It's alright child, you're at Gongaga.' The woman answered kindly. 'I'm Sofia and this is my husband, Richard. You're a SOLDIER, right?'

'Huh? Ah, yeah.' The young boy replied as he got into a sitting position. 'My name is Cloud. Cloud Strife.'

'Um, could I ask you another small question?' Sofia asked and waited for the boy to respond with a small nod of his head. 'Do you know a boy named Zack Fair?'

'Zack?' He repeated the name surprisingly.

'Yes, do you know him?' The old woman asked hopefully. It had been years since they had last heard of their son, they knew he is busy, but still he could have written a letter or two each month.

'Yeah, Zack is my friend. He is right now a SOLDIER 2nd Class, but I'm pretty sure he will be promoted to 1st Class soon with his _almost_ perfect record.' The blond grumbled under his breath, Sofia knew that it wasn't hatred that coated the word "prefect", probably annoyance if she had to guess. After all, her son is as hyper-active as she is when she had his age. Being optimist and cheerful are the greatest cures that had ever existed in life.

'You should rest a little more. I could take you out and visit the village when I'll go to buy some groceries.' The brown hair woman suggested. Cloud hesitated for a moment before he accepted the offer and went back to sleep.

'I wouldn't bring him outside if I were you. Everyone's wounds aren't completely recovered yet.' Richard told his wife as he stared out the window at the distant crumbled and broken black reactor surrounded by a plain desert at the outskirt of the village.

'I know, but...' The brown hair woman looked at the sleeping SOLDIER with soft blue eyes. 'If we want someone to do something about it, then we have to show that person what had happened and ask for their helps. We can't just tell him to fix things just like that. We need him to understand about our problems, so he could help us... This might be our only chance for a brighter future...'

***

_He ran as fast as he could while holding dozen of shining orbs in his arms. He had to get back home before they caught up with him or else he will be beaten again. Father never likes when he is late..._

_But why does he still return home? Either way, he will get beaten and rot in this pathetic city. Why doesn't he just run outside? Out of the city? But where to?_

_There is no place else where he could go, he is just a filthy and disgusting boy, no one will accept him. Where could he truly go to find his sanctuary? Where could he find his mother? Where could he find LOVE once again?_

_He doesn't know. All he knows for sure right now, it's that he has to survive... So he could live to find his answers..._

_His footsteps were mixed with dozen of others behind him._

***

Bright sapphire blue eyes fluttered open, short and deep pants came out almost breathlessly from the now fully awaken blond. Scanning the place, expected to see someone was indeed following him all along and that it wasn't a dream, but there is no one, but him in the room. Letting out a relieved sigh, Cloud slowly got up from the bed and looked out the window where the blue sky is now tainted in pale orange and red.

'Ah you are awake I see.' A gentle voice said behind him. The blond turned around to meet the brown hair woman with a basket in one arm and the other was holding some bandages and some clothes. 'Let's change your bandages first before we go outside.'

After putting on some new bandages and a black cloth to cover his arm, Sofia leaded the young SOLDIER around the village where the villagers looked at him suspiciously before they stopped at the graveyard.

'Please wait for a moment. I need to do something here before we continue out little tour.' Sofia told Cloud as she knelt down next to a tombstone, taking out some strange blue flowers and a small blue coffee-pot shape container from the basket. She held up the flowers for him to inspect. 'These are Salvia officinalis, they are also known as the Sages, which mean "to heal". I offen come here to burn them in the incense burner to calm people who come to visit to disease family member and the spirits who are trying to move on, but couldn't because they were afraid or lost. I hope the scent of the Sage might be able to bring them peace.'

The brown hair woman carefully placed the flowers in the small incense burner, lighting a match that she took out of her pocket and dropped it in the container before she closed it. Soon small white smoke rose from the tiny holes on the cover and enveloped the air of the graveyard with its sweet scent. Sofia clasped her hands together and prayed.

'What happened here?' Cloud asked after a moment.

'The Mako Reactor near the town had exploded a few years ago. Many had died during that explosion, some died after a few months, others were injured badly and the rest were lucky enough to come out without a scratch.' The woman answered without looking up and continued praying. 'Most of the children in the village left and go to Midgar to find a job or join SOLDIER, either way, the village's once cheerful days turned into the ones of tears and sadness. Everyone wants to leave this terrible past behind, by running away, instead of facing it.'

'I'm sorry...' The blond didn't know what else to say.

'No. No. No. It's not your fault or anything.' Sofia told him and waved her hands frantically. 'What I meant is that I hope you will understand our problem and try to ask your superiors if... Well, you... Euh... They could help?'

Cloud looked away with a sadden expression. What could he do after all? He was suddenly transported to Gongaga, a village of the Eastern Continent and thousands of miles away from Midgar. Shinra is probably listing him in the group of traitor or something by now, they never tolerated any escapees from them. It's serve or die. It's as simple as that. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to reject the kind woman, who is also Zack's mother, so he said: 'I'll try to do my best for you and the villagers when I get back, but I can't promise you that things might be the same when it does.'

'It's ok. Knowing that someone had listened and saw our problems, it's already enough.' Sofia told him with teary eyes and a grateful smile graced her lips. 'Shall we continue our tour?'

'No, I think I want to stay here for a moment...' Cloud replied softly with a small smile. The brown hair woman nodded her head and told him that the dinner will be ready in an hour or two before she left.

The young SOLDIER looked back at the tombstones and his hand went to pull the small silver chain that hung the red orb that had lost its glow and warmth ever since Moon was taken away from him. Taking the small necklace in his hands, Cloud closed his eyes and whispered to it: 'Moon... Please tell me what to do... I don't know anything anymore... I'm scare... And I don't know what to do...'

A low growl caught his attention. The SOLDIER looked up to see the black creature that had attacked him and Kadaj before they became SOLDIER. The monster stared at him for another minute, and then it turned around and jumped away. The blond ran after it through the thick green leaves. _What the hell is THAT doing here?_

After a few minutes, the trees and leaves around him seemed to open up to him and he arrived at a clear space, the long silver hair stranger stood in the middle and looked as if he had been waiting for a long time.

'Hello there, Nii-san.' He greeted as he took a step towards him.

Cloud instantly took a step back and yelled: 'Stop calling me that!'

'What? Calling you Nii-san? You are my Nii-san.' The stranger replied calmly with a smirk. 'And always will be.'

'No! I'm not!' The blond bellowed. _There is only one person who I allow calling me Nii-san. No one else in the whole wide world could call me that._

'You are really cruel, no wonder Kadaj was so angry at you that he asked Mother the strength to kill you.' Cloud flinched at those taunting words. He glared at the man angrily as he felt his power over the ice is slowly concentrating around him. Suddenly a buzzing sound echoed deep inside his head, breaking his concentration over his power as he held his head in his hand, then voices and images flashed in his mind.

'_Just kidding... I won't leave you hanging like that.' Zack, sitting next to him on a small yellow truck, said with a bright smile. '... We're friends right?'_

_**Nii-san loves HIM more than he loves me...**_

_Suddenly the images changed and Zack was now lying on the ground, rain pouring down on his bloody body, a relieved smile graced his lips as he said weakly: 'You will be my living legacy...'_

_**Nii-san wants HIM more than me...**_

_Fire covered every house around the water tower, Cloud looked around his old town, Nibelheim burning to ruins, he looked at his house, he could see his mother knelt in the middle of the room as the fire waved slowly towards her and he shouted: 'MOTHER!' But she couldn't yell back, because at the very moment the ceiling of the house collapsed and crushed her down._

_**Why won't HE just die?!**_

Cloud let out a scream of agony from his pains, both physically and mentally, but his scream was soon joined by others. When the pain lessen, the young SOLDIER whirled around to see black smoke rising from the village behind the thick woods, he turned to face the silver hair stranger again, but he was gone already. _It's a diversion!_

The SOLDIER 3rd Class quickly ran back to the village, but with the throbbing pain in his head, it's a little harder for him to run without hitting a tree or two, but he didn't bother nursing his small injuries when probably dozen of villagers were getting wounds bigger than his scratches. When he arrived at the entrance of the village, everyone was surrounded by the black creatures that growled and swiped their claws at whoever was trying to escape.

Cloud managed to create dozen of sharp ice shards after focusing as best as he could and killed the three monsters in his way. He ran to the frighten crowd, trying to calm them down while keeping the monsters at bait. A sudden sound caught his attention. He concentrated harder to identify the sound and identified it as the whirling sound of a chopper's blade of a two or three. _Good, SOLDIERs are coming. They could take care of them, all they need is to get to vast area where the choppers could land and evacuate them._

The young blond looked over his shoulder and spotted Sofia among the scared villagers, he shouted at her: 'Sofia! There are choppers coming this way, they will probably land at the destroyed Mako Reactor! When I cut a way through the monsters, take everybody and run towards the Reactor, don't stop until you guys reach it!'

'O-Ok.' The brown hair woman stammered as she held a frighten kid in her arms.

'Alright!' Cloud immediately formed dozen of ice pillars in the air and crushed down most of the black creatures, while some dodged it, making a safe passage for the people to get out of the burning village. 'NOW!'

Everybody doesn't need to be told twice and immediately ran for their lives towards safety. Then Richard ran passed him, the man held out his sword to him and told him: 'Here, use this.' The blond took the offered sword. 'Don't get kill before I repay you or I'll kill you myself!'

When the man finally left, Cloud turned his attention back to the pack of monster that are swarming the burned down structure of the houses, every one of them are growling at him, either with hunger or with anger. The SOLDIER fell into his fighting stance and muttered: 'Here we go again.'

His words almost acted like a signal as the beasts charged towards all at the same time. The light on the black scale of the monsters, casted by the fire, couldn't compare to the two bright glowing blue eyes of the warrior.

***

Zack Fair was worried and angry, no, not angry, pissed. The raven hair teen immediately jumped out of the helicopter when it had landed next to the destroyed Reactor, followed by his calm mentor and several other SOLDIERs.

'Shit, shit, shit.' The Second Class chanted like a mantra as he ran towards the forest where his hometown was burning to ash behind it. They had spotted the fire several miles away and Angeal quickly ordered the pilot to land at Gongaga and the SOLDIERs to be prepare to rescue the villagers. Zack was the most anxious in all of them, because he hasn't contacted his parents for a while and he doesn't know their conditions, so what if his mother or father was sick and didn't escape the fire, the spiky hair boy shook his head to clear out the worst and terrifying thought of his parents' death.

'ZACK!' A voice yelled out. The black hair SOLDIER looked up and smiled when he saw his parents and the villagers are coming out of the forest, only a few of them were injured.

Zack hurried over to the brown hair woman and hugged her with tears threatening to spill over his eyelashes as he said: 'Gaia! Mom, you scare me! I lost at least ten years of lifespan!'

'Zack, I'm glad to see you safe and sound too, but you got to go back to the village.' His father told him urgently as he let go of his mother. 'Cloud is still in the village.'

'Cloud?! He's here?!' The spiky hair SOLDIER shouted. Richard nodded his head and told how they had found the blond unconscious, the recovery and the sudden attack of the monsters.

Zack looked back at his mentor, silently asking him permission to look and help Cloud. Angeal nodded in acknowledgement and the raven hair teen quickly charged towards the village as a pain roar echoed in the night air.

***

Cloud pulled his sword out of the last monster's body which immediately disintegrated. Breathing hard, the blond leaned against a large tree on his left as support, trying to regain his strength and breath. His clothes tainted in blood were cut at several spot, the cloth used to cover the black spots on his arms was reduced to bits, but all the blood over him belongs to the monster. His only injuries were small scratches over his cheek. After a moment of rest, he stumbled onto a stony road that leads to the Cosmo Region and the Nibelheim region.

'CLOUD!' A voice shouted behind him, he turned around to see Zack running towards him, a wave of relief washed over the blond, seeing the raven hair SOLDIER well and alive helped him to push away those terrible visions he had saw. He is finally safe and with his friend beside him, he knew that everything will be alright.

Suddenly Zack stopped abruptly in his track and stared wide-eyed at him, the blond looked at him surprised and followed the boy's gaze to the black rash-like scars on his arm. The visions came back to him as fast as they were gone, clutching his hand into fists, bright blue eyes looked away. _I can't go back... I still have something to do and... I can't go back like THIS!_

The blond turned to walk away, but he stopped when the raven hair SOLDIER called his name again, he whirled around with his sword and pointed it at Zack who is only standing a few steps away from him, shouting: 'DON'T COME ANY CLOSER TO ME!'

Both of them stared at each other for a silent moment and then Zack asked: 'Is this why you didn't come back?'

Startled by the raven hair SOLDIER sudden question, Cloud lowed his sword a little and looked at the ground sadly before he replied: 'Half of it.'

'The other half is about Kadaj, isn't it?' His friend spoke softly as if he was afraid that he might hurt him with his words, and they did hurt him, but not as painful as receiving a Mega Flare right at the face. Then Zack took out his cell phone and dialed a number, Cloud was about to knock the phone out of his hand, but the black spiky hair teen held out his hand and he stopped. 'Angeal? I couldn't find Cloud. Yes. I'll continue to search for him. Don't worry, over and out.'

Zack closed his cell as Cloud lowered his weapon to the ground, smiling at each other. The raven hair teen clasped his shoulder and told him: 'Promise me you won't die out there or I'll kill you myself.'

The blond chuckled as he said: 'Boy, you sure sound like your father, both of you said the same thing.' Both SOLDIERs burst out laughing, but their little moment of peace was suddenly interrupted by the whirling sound of an orange shuriken that came from the bushes. Cloud lifted his sword up in time to block the flying projectile and deflected it back to where it came from. 'Who's there?'

A woman with long brown curly hair stepped out of the trees, holding her bleeding shoulder. Zack shouted "Cissnei" as he ran to the injured girl's side.

'Do you have to throw my weapon back so hard? When I just want give you my key?' Cissnei asked sarcastically. Cloud looked down at his feet to see a metal key on the ground. He picked it up and examined it. 'It's for my bike. Take it. It's at the end of this road.'

The young SOLDIER looked at his two companions and thanked them with a small smile.

Cissnei returned his smile with her own as she said: 'Just come back and sing again.'

'I will come back.' Cloud replied before he ran down the stony road leaving the SOLDIER and the Turk behind. _I'll definitely come back._

* * *

**I have finally finish another chapter! I hope I didn't make too many mistakes this time, because I seriously think that I blew it in Chapter 12. If any of you could give some pointers, please do, because I really want to know what kind of mistakes I easily make while I'm writing. So please review and tell what you think about this new chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. I hope you will all enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

To Where All Had Started!

Cloud couldn't help, but smiled as he felt the wind caressing his face and hair. He had been riding on the black motorcycle, "Hardy-Daytona", which Cissnei had given to him for an hour or two and he had already speed pass the grand red canyons and heading toward the green field beyond the red stones and dust. Zack had always told him that the motorcycles were the best transportation invented and he had to admit that, even though the spiky hair SOLDIER had sometimes doubtful ideas or opinions on certain matters, what he said about the motorcycles were right. It is the best invention in the history!

_I'm going to make it._ Cloud thought as he looked the fuel and speed indicator. He still had a half quarter fuel and he is at 120km/h, if he keeps up with this speed, he will arrive at the outskirt of his home in no time.

_**Cloud...**_ A soft voice whispered in his mind.

'Moon?!' Cloud shouted the name in surprise and the bike swerved in momentary loss of control. The blond quickly regained control and pulled it to a stop, and then he looked around him and the wide starry sky, searching for his winged friend. 'Where are you?!'

_**Cloud... Don't... Nibelheim... Danger...**_

'I'm going to get you back no matter what!' Cloud yelled up to the sky.

_**You... Important... Future... Don't... Come...**_

The SOLDIER shouted his friend's name one more time before there is nothing more than silence. His grips on the handles tighten as he stared ahead where his enhanced eyes could easily see the tiny lights of the small sleepy town. _I'm coming to get you and Kadaj back, no matter what stands in my way..._

Suddenly, the same buzzing sound that he had heard at Gongaga echoed inside his head. Clutching his head in pain, Cloud tried to fight back the visions that are taking over his consciousness.

***

_He had finally made it back home. It's easy to outrun couples of adults when you are just a small kid and especially when you knew different shortcuts._

_He looked at the door and was about to push it open, but then he realized something, the whole place was quiet, deadly quiet. Usually, Father would be sitting on the sofa with TV opened and put the highest volume. The whole place suddenly seemed more dangerous..._

_When he caught the scent of alcohol in the air, he knew his assumption was right. He had to GET OUT of HERE!_

_He turned to run, but someone caught the back of his collar and pulled him back, the orbs he had stolen were dropped to the ground, but he doesn't care about those things anymore, he had to get out of here!_

'_You little slut! Finally home! Took ya enough time!' He heard Father yelled at him before kicked him by the stomach. He fell winded on the floor, clutching his stomach in pain. Then he yanked his hair hard and dragged him across the room before throwing him at the wall._

'_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Please stop, Father!' He begged as the larger man began to beat him._

_He stopped after a moment, but only to grab him by the throat and squeezed the life out of him._

'_Let... Go...' He choked out and tried to push the enormous hand over his throat with his small skinny hands as breathing became more and more difficult. Black spots started to creep into his vision. He took one more desperate breath before he was completely consumed by the overwhelming darkness._

_**Someone... Help... Mother... Help...**_

***

The visions and the voices left the blond slightly disoriented. Cloud slowly took deep breaths to calm his pounding heart and tried to push away those horrifying images of being beaten and strangled to death to the back of his mind. _What's the meaning of this? Why am I having these images?_

Then he remembered something Moon had told him when he had finally mastered his control over the ice element. He told him that everything is connected to the Lifestreams, his powers were drawn from the very power that float around the planet. Also one of the instructors had once mentioned that the Lifestreams were filled with people's thoughts and memories, so when someone died, his will would return to the source and lingered around it. It could be reasonable if by using his power, he had absorbed part of someone else's memories within him, but the question is why the same person's thoughts appeared in his mind?

He shook his head to clear out these unwanted thoughts and focused once more on his goal, Nibelheim. Wasting no more time on his own musings about the visions, he headed towards the silent town and his home.

He arrived at the entrance of the town in two hours, expecting the calm welcoming silence, but he was instead greeted by people who were running out of the town screaming. Pushing passed the frighten townspeople, Cloud made it into the center of the town where five SOLDIERs were fighting back a pack of the black scaled creatures, among them was Kunsel.

'KUNSEL!' Cloud called out as he cut down one of the beast and joined the small group. 'What's going on here?!'

'Like I know what's going?!' Kunsel replied before he chopped off the head of one of the monsters. 'When we got here, we were attack by these things and I ordered half of my team to evacuate the town while we hold them back!'

'You guys were only ten?!' The blond shouted surprisingly as he froze one of the monsters and shattered it into pieces.

'I don't think they ever thought that handling one Second Class SOLDIER would need an army.' The helmeted SOLDIER replied sarcastically, but quickly regretted for saying that, because that reminded both of them their positions after this battle is over.

'Do what you need to do, I don't care, but if you want to force back to Shinra. Then you can forget it, I won't go back till I find Kadaj.' _And Moon._ Cloud added mentally as more monsters came out of no where, rushing towards them.

'I know.' Kunsel replied almost sadly. 'But our first priority is the safety of these people. Damn, where do they all come from?!'

Cloud looked around them and saw that the most of the shadow creatures came from the road to the Shinra Mansion. Before he dashed towards the road, he shouted at Kunsel: 'I think I know where they all come from, I'll go check it out!'

'OK!' The SOLDIER shouted back. 'BE CAREFUL!'

Cloud nodded and then he ran towards the pack of beasts blocking the path to the old mansion, cutting them down one by one. He stopped his assault when he heard someone behind him yelled his name, he looked over his shoulder to spot his mother who looked the same as the day he had last saw her and Tifa, who no longer wore the usual blue robe, but a cowboy attire. Kunsel was holding them back from running towards him, which is a good thing that he did, the SOLDIER gave a thumb-up.

The blond returned it with his own, knowing that Kunsel will take care of his mother and his childhood friend, he took one last glance at them before he charged at the monsters. Thrust and slashed every single monster that came into his way until he finally reached the iron gate of the haunted Shinra Mansion.

The shadow beasts immediately vanished when he kicked down the old gate. Sapphire blue eyes widen in surprise when he saw what stood in front of the oak doors, an armored centaur-like creature. It was twice his size and it had the lower body of a griffon with armors attached to a human upper-body covered in a black armor, a small devil wing was stretched out of his left shoulder and the other side had a black angel wing. His left hand held a long pointed spear filled with different runes, while his right arm was connected to a shield and hammer-like equipment. It wore a black helmet with the face of a human mask on it.

When it pointed its spear at him, Cloud held up his sword and fell into his fighting stance, concentrating his power on his weapon. Then the chimera charged at him with full speed, the blond did the same thing, but when they are almost face-to-face with each other, he rolled to the right and slashed the armored legs, only making a scratch with some frosts on them.

_Sword won't work huh? Alright._ Cloud switched his tactics and sent three large ice sharps towards his target, but when they were about to hit the legs, they shook and then flew back at him with breakneck speed. The SOLDIER jumped to the side to dodge his own ice attacks and looked back at the centaur-like creature, confused at what had just happened.

'_**It's useless.**_' A disembodied voice came out of the helmet. '_**This armor was created to reflect every ice magic you used. Even if you used your sword and combined it with the power of the ice, you won't be able to break it. So just stay still and DIE!**_'

Cloud parried and deflected the powerful blows that are throwing at him relentlessly, but after each blow, he could feel his arms were screaming in pain and he is starting to feel tire from all the fights he had fought tonight, from Gongaga to here. Then his grip over the hilt of his sword loosened and another strike knocked the sword from his grasp.

Now with Cloud unarmed, the centaur-like creature grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him through the double door of the mansion. Once they were inside, it thrust its spear and impaled in the SOLDIER's right shoulder, the blond let out a painful groan as he was lifted off the ground and were to eye level with the monster.

'_**Painful? But this doesn't compare to the ice prison that you created for the other traitor.**_' It said to him with a voice filled with malice. Cloud glared through the two small holes to the bright red eyes behind the mask and threw an ice spell on its face, but it got deflected and hit the left side of his face, almost knocking him off cold.

The blond struggled to keep himself awake, knowing that if he let the darkness consumed him, he will never get out, or to see his mother again, his friends, Kadaj and Moon. He opened his eyes, which he had closed when he got hit by his own attack. His vision was unclear, because his left eye got some frosts and blood in it, he could also taste the copper taste of his own blood in his mouth.

'_**What do you cherish the most in the world? Tell me Cloud.**_' The centaur-like creature asked as the mask melted away and the helmet turned into some kind of crown, but what shocked Cloud the most was that the face was Sephiroth with several purple veins around snaking around its neck. This monster might also have the face of the General, but its eyes told another story and they weren't like Kadaj's either. Somehow, Cloud felt relieved that this monster isn't the silver hair teen's transformation. '_**Tell me what you love Cloud and I'll make your death less painful.**_'

The SOLDIER looked at the monster defiantly and spat at his face. The creature looked at him for a moment before it said: 'As you wish.'

Bolts of lighting were released from the hand holding the spear and the electric attack was transferred to the wound where the weapon was impaled to. Cloud screamed in pain as the electrical discharge ran through his entire body, making him shaking violently as the energy crackled around him. The boy only stopped his screaming when the spell was over.

_I got to move..._ Cloud thought as he tried to move his left arm, but he couldn't find the strength. He felt very tired and he just wanted to close his eyes. _I'm really tire..._ He tried to move again, only getting his fingers twitched a little bit. _I can't continue my journey anymore..._ Slowly, his eyes went closed.

***

_It's so dark here... And cold..._

_**I want Mother...**_

_Cloud opened his eyes to see a small boy in front of him curled up like a ball, shivering. He was about to go comfort the boy, but green lights appeared and were slowly moving towards him. The Lifestreams, Cloud thought._

_**Is it you, Mother?**_

_The light became brighter and green threads of the Lifestreams carefully latched onto the boy, pulling him towards the bright light._

_**NO! YOU'RE NOT MOTHER! LET GO!**_

_The boy screamed and struggled to break free from the grip just like an animal trapped in a cage. Seeing this, the blond couldn't stand watching this without doing anything, but when he tried to take one step, he couldn't, his feet were like stick to the ominous darkness._

_**LEAVE ME ALONE!**_

_A shockwave exploded around him, cutting the threads and pushing back the light. Cloud's eyes widen in surprised and horror when he saw what was standing behind the little boy, even though he never really see that thing before, he was sure what that was, JENOVA._

_The alien life form put its deformed hands over the shoulder of the boy and whispered comforting words to his ears, but the SOLDIER could see through the kind mask it is wearing, it's a disgusting creature's bloodlust, for the Planet's blood. The little boy couldn't see that and held on the hands tightly._

**What's your name child?** _Jenova asked._

_**I... I don't remember...**_

**Don't worry, from now on, your name shall be Kadaj...**

_**Kadaj...**_

_After the little boy repeated the name, a black mist swirled around him, changing his appearance into one that is familiar to Cloud. Everything looked like the silver hair teen he came to know, but only the eyes were foreign for him, they held certain madness in them. The child took the hand of the monster and walked away._

_WAIT KADAJ! Cloud shouted and tried to run after them, but his feet refused to move from their spot. COME BACK KADAJ! SHE IS LYING TO YOU! KADAJ!_

***

Sapphire unfocused eyes opened themselves, drawing the attention of the centaur-like monster, it said: 'Still alive I see.'

_Kadaj... I got to save him..._ The blond thought as he tilted his head up a little bit, enough to see the monstrous eyes. Suddenly everything seemed to slow down in time and a luminous light surrounded him, the monster in front of him disappeared and was replaced by a large ice mirror. He could see his own reflection on the surface of the ice, but for a moment, he thought he saw a beautiful pale blue skin woman with her eyes closed appeared in his reflection.

Then everything vanished, leaving him in the same position he is before, but he found his strength again and he extended his hand, concentrated once more on summoning his power.

'_It's useless. No matter how many times you use your ice magic, it will be reflected back to you._' The creature repeated.

Cloud couldn't hear him, because while he concentrated on gathering the energy around him, his ears had picked up a faint and distant heartbeat sound. It was like something was calling for him.

'Diamond...' He said unconsciously and softly, barely a small whisper, causing a silver brow rose. 'Diamond Dust!'

A bluish silver blast was released from the palm of the blond and hit squarely the face of the monster, covering its body entirely in ice and made it looked like a statue made out of ice. Then a small crack sounded in the abandoned mansion before it was accompanied by another and another. Soon, the whole ice statue crumbled to the ground, followed by the injured blond.

Among the rubbles of ice laid a short silver hair man, who Cloud recognized as the stranger in the Shinra building. The man whispered weakly: 'I'm sorry Kadaj. I didn't kill him for you...'

As soon as those words left the lips of the stranger, his body turned into a black mist and vanished without a trace. Silence reigned once again in the always silent mansion, only the small inhaled and exhaled breath of the wounded SOLDIER echoed around the walls of the old worn out building.

After a moment, Cloud slowly got to his feet and stumbled towards the stairs that leads to the second stage. He could still hear the faint beating of a heart, but it isn't the only thing that caught his attention. The walls, the woods, the creaking sounds under his feet, all were so familiar to him. _I had been here before... A long time ago... No... I haven't... Yet I did..._

Everything was blurry for Cloud. His feet were moving on their own as if like he was sleepwalking and he made his way to a small chamber. He approached the wall and pushed it, causing the wall shook and slid away, revealing a round staircase leading to the darkness below. Usually, the blond would think twice before stepping into the unknown, but for some reason, he felt like he knew this place for a long time and let his feet continued to guide him from his descend, his shoulder pressed against the wall for support.

When he reached the cold and humid ground, he walked down a long cavern corridor towards a single where light came out. The closer he got to the door, the louder the heartbeat rang in his mind.

He lifted his less injured arm up and pushed the door, which swung open loosely. The light blinded him for a second, before his enhanced eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. A smile graced his lips when he saw who's in the middle of the room. Moon, with his eyes closed and his arms spread to his sides, looked like he was there to welcome him back even when he was encased in ice.

Cloud took a small step towards his sleeping friend, his arm stretched out to reach him. His eyes started to sting, but the blond didn't pay any attention to it, or the dampness he felt on his cheeks. He said the sleeping being's name softly. Saying the name triggered the ice prison that held Moon to break and turned into little snowflakes.

As bright blue eyes opened themselves, the SOLDIER's tired eyes closed and the worn out body fell forward. Even though Moon was just freed from his ice prison, he caught the blond in his arms in the blink of an eye before he hit the ground.

Cloud fought to keep his eyes open as he whispered the auburn hair man's name. Moon sat both of them down on the ground as he pulled Cloud against his chest and wrapped his arms around the smaller body. He leaned forward to whisper to the boy's ear: 'It's alright now Cloud. I'm here. Sleep.'

Sapphire eyes struggled to stay open for another second before they finally gave in. The black wing spread wide and wrapped both of them in its warmth to shield them from the frosty cold of the basement. Moon buried his face in the unruly hair of the blond and inhaled the unique scent of the boy as his hands smoothed the broken body in his arms, healing the invisible wounds and scars.

After several minutes, the auburn hair man drifted to sleep too. Both Gaia's chosen knights fell into a dreamless sleep, where no nightmares, no past's ghosts came to haunt them. They are just content to be in each other arms once again.

* * *

**Author's note: A special thanks to StoryTagger, whose review in Chapter 12 had given the idea of Cloud's most powerful ice magic attack. THANK YOU VERY MUCH STORYTAGGER!**

**And I hope that people who read my story would help pick one of the two story I had in mind and that I had put their summary in my profile! (Because I kept getting a draw in my poll).**

**Thank you everyone! *BOW***


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

I Understand and I'm Sorry

_He was breathing painfully. His body was completely broken from the fight with Nii-san. He is dying, but why is he feeling so comfortable in the arms of the traitor, of Mother's enemy?_

_**Maybe... I never really hate him... All along, it was Him who had hated Nii-san...**_

_He looked up at the face hovering above him, the person looked sad..._

_**Why isn't he mad at me...? Why is he sad...?**_

_The blue sapphire eyes held deep sadness in them. He really wanted to reach up and smoothed away the sadness of Nii-san. He wanted to see him smile..._

_***_

_His dream had come true! Nii-san was now with him and smiling, he looked a little sad, but he will definitely make him happy, happier than he is right now!_

_**Hey Nii-san it's that Midgar there!**__ He shouted pointing at the constructing modern town. The blond hair boy looked at surprisingly._

'_Nii-san?' The blond repeated._

_**From now on you can be my Nii-san, ok?**__ He told the shocked blond, holding his hand tightly. He will definitely protect that smile of his. No one will touch or harm him anymore._

_***_

_It was a small kiss, but it felt wonderful. Nii-san is so warm. He wanted to keep this warmth._

_Nii-san is the only person who looked at him for who he is. He loved him and only him. Now he understands why Nii-san was sad when he faded away. He loved him._

_When he is gone, he was sad because he left him, but he won't go away anymore, he will stay beside him forever and the smile will stay bright for both of them._

_***_

_Kadaj..._ Cloud knew he was crying even though his eyes stayed closed, but he couldn't feel the dampness on his cheek, because he could only feel the guilt of pushing Kadaj away and slapped him. Suddenly he felt a hand wiped off his tears, slow and gentle.

'It's alright. We'll get him back, I promise Cloud.' He heard Moon said to him gently. Blue watery sapphire eyes opened themselves and stared into the midnight blue eyes.

'It's all my fault, everything is my fault. I lost him because I didn't care what he truly felt.' Cloud croaked as he turned his head away to avert the worry gaze of his friend.

'No you didn't, if you did lose him, you wouldn't be able to see his thoughts and memories.' The blond looked back at the man confusingly. Moon took a deep breath before he continued. 'After the two of you were separated, you were always thinking about him, right? Your Inner-Lifrestream started to search for him and found his soul. JENOVA could have shielded him from you, but she couldn't, because Kadaj's spirit is also looking for you. There is a chance for you to save him.'

'But... I... I can't...' Cloud stammered as he looked at the black rash-like scars on his left arm, his hand gripped the dark crimson coat. 'I just... Can't... Save...'

'But you did. You save Kadaj, you have kept him from falling deep into JENOVA's spell, and even now, he was still clung onto the hope of seeing you. And you freed me from the ice prison.' The blond was about to retort, but he was silence by a gloved finger his lips. 'I don't want you to ever think you can't safe anyone. You had saved more people than you think you had failed to. Not like me...'

'Moon?' The blond said hesitantly after the finger was removed from his lips as he felt the grip of the arm around his waist tighten and his friend hided his face behind the curtain of copper hair. Cloud shifted on his position and hugged the man just like the last time he was at the Shinra ward. 'Everything's going to be alright, right?'

He hoped that his words would stop the man's sadness, a sadness he never knew how it had begun and he never wanted to know either. He just knew that it pained him to see Moon being sad because of him. He just wanted to see everyone happy again and he wanted everything back to _normal_ again.

When a gloved hand was placed over the black scars on his left arm, Cloud whimpered softly at the sudden pressure in his head, it felt like something was trying to break his mind. The soft sound made the auburn hair man pulled back his hands, as if he were afraid to touch him, and apologized.

'Stop apologizing!' Cloud growled, feeling very angry right now, not at Moon, but at himself. 'Why do you keep apologizing when everything's my fault to begin with? I was the one who caused all this! I was the one who made Kadaj decided to go to JENOVA! I was the one who turned him into that- that evil twin of Sephiroth!'

The young blond blinked back his tears and bit on his lips to not cry out. He just hated himself, for every single mistake he made! If he isn't ignorant and plain stupid, he might have been a little more careful and attentive to those who are close to him! This might not even happen! None of this might have happen! Then he couldn't hold his tears back anymore and let them pour out like the rains of an inevitable storm.

'I just want to be forgiven...' Moon whispered sadly. Cloud pulled away from him to wipe away his tears, but the auburn hair man reached his face first and caressed the wet cheek, the blond stared at him surprisingly through teary blue hues, then he leaned forward to kiss away the tears. The blond closed his eyes and melted under the soft touches and the feather-light kisses of the man. It was after making sure there is no longer a trace left of the crystal tears that the man pulled back and the boy reopened his eyes.

A moment of silent awkwardness had passed between them, they simply stared at each other, Cloud's trying to find a hint of emotion in the glowing gaze of his friend while Moon was simply observing his delicate features, then he said: 'I think we should go now. Kadaj is waiting.'

At the sound of the familiar name, Cloud immediately perked up and stared into the glowing blue eyes as he repeated the words. Moon nodded his head as he got up and held his hand out for the young SOLDIER, which Cloud took with a small smile. Both of them headed to the opened door and Moon added: 'Before we leave, I need to wake someone else up.'

'Huh? Who?' Cloud asked as he followed his friend, because he couldn't think of anyone who had the courage to live, let alone sleep, in this creepy mansion and its basement, unless it was another scientist who is as freaky as Hojo is. The crimson coated man didn't answer as he folded his black wing on his shoulder and walked towards a large door barricaded with chains and a lock. Placing his index finger on the lock, it immediately grew hot red before it melted.

Even though Cloud knew that Moon had perfect control over the fire power and had performed it dozen of times in front of him, in his phoenix form, but the blond still found himself admiring the man's powerful skill.

Moon pulled opened the old worn-out door, a disgusting smell filled the air and Cloud had to put his hand over his mouth and nose to prevent himself from gagging on. The smell is unbearable. It is mixed with old rotten flesh and wood, plus the humidity of the cavern-like room, it's even worse, but there is something else in there, something that even the SOLDIER's enhanced scent couldn't identify. The auburn hair man stepped into the room without the slightest sign of discomfort about the smell.

Cloud only got a good look at the room when he got inside too and it explained the reason about the smell, because it isn't a room, it's a crypt. Wood coffins lay here and there in different angles with skeletons, except one who was placed right in the middle of the crypt, straight and untouched with a large cross over the lid. The crimson coated man knelt next to it and slowly slid the lid off the coffin.

'Moon, I don't think that's a-' The lid of the large wooden box fell to the floor with a loud bang with dirt and dust uprising. The blond coughed a few time in his hand, while he waved his free hand in the air to dissipate the thick dust. When the dust settled down, Cloud's eyes widen in surprise at what lay inside the coffin as he finished his sentence: 'Good idea...'

Inside the casket was an ebony hair man, whose thick silk-like hair was held back by a red headband that most of his bangs out of his pale moonlit face. The man looked slim and tall, he was dressed in complete black leather with a bucked up red cloak hidden the lower half of his face, his shoes had golden plating that spiked up at the tip, his left arm had gauntlet seemed to be made with the same material as the armor on his shoes, the fingertips looked like claws with the golden equipment. A three barrel gun was strapped at his right side.

Cloud swallowed nervously, the man was so beautiful with that ivory skin of his that he looked like a fallen angel in sleep instead of someone who is resting in peace and he could make out a small faint heartbeat with his enhanced hearing. He wondered if the man was in some sort of coma.

The auburn hair man leaned over the ear of the probably not-dead man and whispered a soft command: 'Awaken from your deep slumber, Chaos.'

Ruby red eyes flashed opened, which caused Cloud to jump back in surprise while Moon simply leaned back with a small smile on his face as the awaked man sat up in his coffin.

'Who are you? Why do you call Chaos?' The ebony hair man demanded coldly.

'My name is of no importance, but you may call Moon and this Cloud Strife.' Moon presented them with a small elegant gesture. 'I'm here to ask for your aid and to help you to forgive your sins.'

'What do you know about nightmares? Nothing.' The strange man said as he returned to his previous position in the coffin and was about to close the lid, but the crimson coated swordsman stopped him with one hand.

'I am here to give you a chance of redemption. A chance to see the one, who you thought you had failed to protect, and her child. You could also complete that the little unfinished business you have with your nightmare.' Moon offered to him, staring dead into the crimson hues.

The gunman gave the auburn hair man a calculated look before he closed his eyes and asked: 'Do you know where Lucrecia is?'

'I promise I will bring you to her if you help us.' Moon answered as he removed his hand from the lid and held it to the man who took it without hesitation.

'What's your name?' The young blond asked as the two men got up.

'Vincent. Vincent Valentine.' The black hair man answered after studying him for a moment. 'You're a SOLDIER.'

It was a statement, not a question. Cloud wondered why he didn't flinched under the cold gaze of this Vincent Valentine, he had a gaze that could rival the one of Sephiroth and yet he didn't seemed to be intimidate by that, he felt like he was used to it. _Maybe I should thank Sephiroth for training me to not be intimidated by people's gazes._

'Ex-SOLDIER, to be exact.' The words came out of his mouth without the blond knew why he said that, but still it felt right what he just said it. Then he turned his attention to his one winged friend. 'So where do we go from here?'

'Nibelheim Reactor. JENOVA and Kadaj are waiting for us there.' Moon answered. Cloud looked at the floor sadly at the mention of the silver hair teen's name. The winged man slowly approached the young blond and put his hand on his right arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. 'Don't lose faith, Cloud.'

The simple words had brought some morale back to young Ex-SOLDIER as he nodded his head and followed his friend with their new ally behind them to the spiral stairs.

***

After Cloud had collected his sword, the trio left the abandoned mansion and made their way to Mt. Nibel and through it easily, with only two or three monsters to take care of on the road, a broken bridge and a Mountain Dragon blocking their way. As the lights from the old Mako Reactor grew brighter, Cloud's heart felt heavier, an uneasy feeling went passed him with each step he took. _Something's wrong. It's just like last time..._

He stopped on his track to try to calm his hurricane of thoughts about what might happen to Moon, telling himself that what happen at the Science Department won't happen again. _What if I fail to protect him again?_

'Cloud.'

Cloud snapped back to reality to see Moon standing beside him and Vincent a few feet away from them scouting the area. _**Nothing is going to happen to me... No matter what's waiting for us... I promise...**_

A red gloved hand reached out to brush back some yellow spiked hair from the cerulean eyes. The young blond studied the expression and the eyes of his friend carefully, because he knew Moon was constantly in pain in his heart, he doesn't showed the deepest part of his heart often to him, and wanted to find a way to heal him. He didn't want him to pull himself away from him whenever they had touched a certain subject that leads him to remember his past. He wanted to hold him close and smoothed away all his scars like he did for him.

He was about to speak up, but Moon yanked him by the arm and released a fireball with his other hand, hitting a shadow beast behind him. Three shots rang though the air, as they turned their head to see Vincent killing three black monsters at the same time.

'GO!' The auburn hair shouted as he released his grip over the arm of the blond and pushed him away.

Cloud stumbled a few steps before he regained his balance and immediately broke into a run towards the Reactor without looking back at his companions, because he knew that those shadow creatures won't stop them. _**All I wish for is your forgiveness... **_The gentle voice that rang in his mind made him look over his shoulder to look at Moon, but he only saw his back facing him. Biting his lower lips, he continued to run and pushed back the questions that are burning in his mind, knowing that if he communicate telepathically with his friend, he will not only distract himself from his objective, but put Moon in danger too.

_Why? Why do you seek my forgiveness? _The blond couldn't help, but think about this question. _You are one of the two people who had given me everything I had ever dream of..._

When the metallic door of the Reactor was in his sight, Cloud pulled out his sword which was glowing and swung it, a powerful energy arc was threw to the entrance, causing it to explode into millions of bits.

Without wasting his time waiting for the dusts to settle down, the Ex-SOLDIER dashed into the Reactor, jumping down the ladder and running passed the test pods to the opened entrance marked JENOVA. He was slightly panting as he stepped into the room, Sephiroth, or rather Kadaj, stood on the platform where there is an empty mako tank and a broken twisted mechanic body beside it. Between them was a large red tube that is connected to the platform to the floor where Cloud stood, besides that, there nothing but a complete empty space and underneath them was a large mako spring.

'So you finally came.' The long silver hair swordsman said as he pointed the tip of his sword towards him. 'But it is too late. Mother had already begun her journey through the Lifestream to the world's end. Soon everything on this planet shall die and be reborn, including you...'

The blond hair swordsman remained silent. His yellow bangs shield his eyes from the green cat-like gaze. Then what the Ex-SOLDIER did next surprised the silver hair man greatly, he let go of his sword, which clattered on the floor loudly.

'I give up.'

A smile graced the lips of Sephiroth as he said: 'So you finally accept your fate willingly, puppet?'

'I understand why you did this and... I'm sorry...' Cloud whispered as he looked up at the swordsman with teary eyes. 'I'm sorry Kadaj...'

'Didn't I told you before, Kadaj no longer exist.'

The blond ignored his words and slowly walked towards the man, looking straight into his deeps of his eyes and searching for the young innocent silver hair child he knew who is sleeping deep inside as he continued: 'I know you are listening Kadaj! I know you are always there! And I want you to know -'

Before he could finish his sentence, he was struck by a strong lightning spell and fell to his knees.

'Silence, puppet. I don't want to hear another pathetic word from you.' The Sephiroth look-alike said with his hand still glowing in a bright green light.

Cloud pushed himself up painfully and said in between short pants as he took another few steps: 'You... Are one of the... Two people who had ever given me everything that I had ever wished for... Moon is the first person...'

Another electrical discharge was released from the palm of the silver hair man. Intense pain shot though the Ex-SOLDIER's body, instantly knocking him down on his feet again and gasping for breath.

'I said SILENCE!'

Cloud, still gasping for air, managed to cough out his words: 'The other person is you...'

The blond looked up at the man standing on the platform, who is looking at him as if he is seeing a ghost. He smiled as he stood up and said: 'Moon had given me my dreams, confidence and strength, but you... You gave something greater than that... You have given me trust...'

'SHUT UP! SHUT UP!' Sephiroth bellowed as he cast another thunder spell, but somehow, this time it was less strong the previous ones.

It still hurt him, but Cloud found it easier this time to ignore the pain as he walked towards the now seemingly-panicking man. He walked slowly and kept his balance over the tube under his feet.

'Friendship...' Another step, only eight more steps before he reached him.

'STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY!'

'And love...' Four more steps, he is close now.

'I SAID STAY AWAY!' The silver hair swordsman shouted angrily as he lifted his katana to strike the blond. Cloud closed his eyes and braced himself for the sharp pain that's about to come, but it didn't.

'_**Nii-san...**_' A young soft voice spoke out.

The blond hair boy cracked his eyes open to see the silver hair man holding a hand over his face, looking like he was in immense pain. The left green eye had gentle and kind look in it, while the other was filled with rage and madness.

'You have no right to control this body. You have given up on it.' A rough voice said through gritted teeth and then a halo and ghostly version of the long silver hair man appeared next him. 'Mother won't be please about this Kadaj. So stay back!'

'_**You're the one who should stay back!**_' The soft voice spoke again.

'What do you think you are doing?! STOP!' The rough voice shouted. The silver hair swordsman's body started to shake violently.

'_**I don't care about Mother's wish anymore! And beside I don't need her or you anymore! SO GET LOST!**_' The softer voice yelled out and soon a high-pitch scream joined it. A mass of back feather and a dark mist swirled around the tall man as the halo form beside him started to crack before it shattered like a broken glass. The ephemeral black mist slowly dispersed, a large smile took its place over Cloud's face as he spotted a familiar shadow silhouette.

A short silver hair teen in complete black leather attire with a sheathed katana attached on his belt stood at the spot where the once tall swordsman had stood and grinned brightly as he said: 'I'm home, Nii-san.'

The blond chuckled as he replied: 'Yeah, welcome back, Kadaj.'

Suddenly a loud shot rang through the air and everything seemed to slow down instantly for the blond. He didn't know what's going around him, all he knew was that intense pain in his heart and this time it was like physically, not the one that he felt a small ache from the inside. Things became too hazy for him and his body seemed heavier than usual.

Before he knew what hit him, he was already falling off the red tube he was standing on. Kadaj stretched his arm out to catch him, but he couldn't make his arm reached out and grabbed the smaller hand. His only thought was. _Moon..._

'NII-SAN!!!' That is the last thing he heard before bright green light enveloped him, followed by a cold and pitch black darkness.

* * *

**I wasn't sure I did a good job on his chapter, so please review and tell me what you think. I'll try to do better next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters. I hope you'll enjoy another new chapter!**

* * *

The World from Beyond

For a long while, Cloud couldn't hear or see anything in the darkness, but he wasn't afraid, he felt at peace. It was like he doesn't need to worry about anything anymore, because time is endless here.

However, this peacefulness of his was interrupted by a loud roar of thunder, which caused him to wake up in a startled. He took deep breathes to calm himself down before he studied his surroundings, he seemed to be in a study room of some kind, judging by the shelves of books and the table filled with papers and notes, two armchairs near a fireplace. He slowly got up and looked out the window, it was raining hard and lightning appeared there and hear. He could distinctly see some small houses outside.

His enhanced hearing caught up some approaching footsteps. He quickly ducked and hid behind the table as the wooden door swung open.

'Genesis?' Cloud looked at the auburn hair man stumbling into the room as if he was drunk, he stood up and was to help the man, but when he was about to touch him, two more people burst into the room looking slightly in panic, a man with short grey hair and a woman with brown hair in their late forties, both of them were wearing nightdresses.

'What are you doing here?!' The old man bellowed.

Genesis did not answer as he put his arm over the armchair to support himself. He seemed to be hurt, but the blond couldn't see any injuries on him, so he thought he must be poison or something.

'Father... I need your help...' The First Class SOLDIER said in wry voice.

'Don't call me that! You're not my son anymore!' The older man shouted. Cloud winced at the harshness of the voice while Genesis looked at his father blankly and then his mother, who turned her gaze away from the azure glowing eyes. 'My son is supposed to be the strong and well-known SOLDIER! Not a complete failure of an experiment!'

'Experiment?' The crimson Commander repeated the word. Cloud was as surprised as he is.

'I should have never agree to let Shinra use that Gillian's damn cells into you, while you are still in your mother, look at you now, you are pathetic and we have endure having a failure, or perhaps a monster, like you in our house!'

A long moment of silence passed between them before Genesis said: 'Me? Failure? Monster? No, it's not like that, it's not supposed to be like that...'

'Genesis?' The blond whispered the name hesitantly as he slowly approached the man, but faster than his enhanced naked eyes could see. The ruby rapier was drawn and impaled through the old man's chest.

Bloodlust azure eyes looked at the scared woman standing next to the blond. Without thinking about his safety, Cloud jumped in between the woman and the man, yelling: 'NO! GENESIS! STOP!'

The auburn hair swordsman totally ignored his words and slashed through him, but Cloud couldn't feel any pain at all, he looked down at the spot where the blade had hit him, there is no blood! He turned around to see the mistress of the house laying on the puddle of her own blood, the boy quickly backed away from the corpse and looked down at his own hands. _What's going here?!_

The blond looked at Genesis as if he knew what's happening to him, but the man said nothing, instead he grabbed the collars of the two dead corpses and dragged them out of the room. Not wanting to stay in the now bloody room, Cloud followed him, but kept himself a certain distance from the man.

When they went outside, the rain pouring down on them relentlessly, but the blond couldn't feel any of the water on him, like he is a ghost. The auburn hair man started digging on the ground next to a strange looking white tree that bend over with the tips of its branches touched the ground and the familiar forms of the Dumbapples. _So this must be Genesis' hometown... The Banora Village..._ Cloud thought with a certain disappointment, the whole place looked sad and lifeless right now.

The spiky hair teen shifted in his spot next to the tree uncomfortably as Genesis carefully placed his parents' bodies into the muddy hole he made and slowly reburied them. Suddenly the crimson Commander groaned in pain, snapping Cloud out of his trance. The boy quickly knelt down beside him and lightly touched the shoulder of the man, only to find his hand passing through the man.

He immediately pulled his hand back and stared surprisingly at it, wondering what's going to his body, but his attention turned back his Commander who groaned in pain once more. Then the boy spotted something on the back of the man, it was moving beneath the clothes and in a blink of an eye, a black wing burst out of the man's back with fresh blood covering it.

A single black wing was once a warm and pleasant symbol for the Ex-SOLDIER, a symbol of protection from Moon, but now he feared it, it looked different from what he had seen, it was like it would swallowed him completely in the darkness.

'I'm...' Cloud heard Genesis said through gritted teeth. Then the auburn hair man looked up at the sky and shouted: 'I'M NOT A MONSTER!'

Even though it's raining right now, Cloud could have sworn that he had just saw the glimpse a lone tear fell from the lost and sad azure eye of the one winged man.

Suddenly everything around him vanish like the dust of a wasteland and reformed together to become a large vacant room, some part of the roof, the walls and the pillars were broken and the glasses of the windows are either shattered or was covered by wooden planks. _What the hell?!_ Cloud thought as he stood up and studied his new location.

'_The truth is I should have fought Genesis._' The blond heard a familiar voice said behind him, he turned around, but saw nothing, then two foggy figures appeared, their shapes started to become more definite and formed two of the most trusted people who Cloud respected. Yet the man who put his pride and dream above everything had something that shouldn't belong there, two white wings, one as large as the one of Genesis with a smaller one under it, on his right shoulder.

'Honestly, who do you think took care of that?' The raven hair teen who stood behind the winged man said those words almost angrily.

'Angeal... Zack...' Cloud whispered the names softly, knowing that none of them could hear him, but he really wished that they could and tell him what's going around him.

Angeal turned to face Zack and pointed his large Buster Sword towards his apprentice saying: 'Although, what's next is a job only for you.'

'What do you mean?' Zack asked as his eyes narrowed, but they were soon widen in surprise as he jumped back from the gigantic blade that's about to behead him. He held his arm up in shoulder high and told his mentor to stop.

'There's someone waiting for you isn't there?' The white winged man suddenly asked. The blond stared at him in shock, while Zack looked at him with sadness and a slight hint of anger as he pulled his sword off the magnetic strip on his back.

'Angeal, you're not serious are you?' The black spiky hair SOLIDIER asked as he held his sword tightly and ready on his side. Angeal didn't answer and attacked the shorted SOLDIER again.

'STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!' Cloud shouted as he ran towards them, but he found himself running through them, like they were non-existing people, he whirled around and looked at the two SOLDIERs desperately.

'Good Angeal!' A voice spoke out. Every eye in the room turned to the source of the new voice. A fat bearded man wearing orange shirt and a white lab coat came out of the shadow, who Cloud remembered was called Hollander or Professor Hollander, a rival scientist of Hojo, looking rather too pleased of the situation they are having here. 'Now it's time for our child to take his revenge!'

'Our child?' the blond and the black hair boy said at the same time and stared at the angry First Class SOLDIER.

'SHUT UP! My father is dead!' Angeal bellowed as he pushed Zack back with his sword.

'Then, take your revenge on your mother's behalf.' The fat man said smugly, making Cloud wanted to punch as much as he wanted to beat Hojo like the first time he saw the mad scientist at the ward.

'My mother was ashamed of her past and ended her own life!' The winged man spat at Hollander venomously.

'Ashamed? Unfortunately you are mistaken. I would think she was very prideful about it.' The fat scientist spoke disbelievingly as he paced around like those rich business men who thought they had all the time of the world Cloud saw at Shinra. 'She even used her won name for the project code name. Project G otherwise known as Project Gillian.'

_Project G... _The blond thought as he remembered what Kadaj or rather JENOVA had said when he had taken the form of the General. _**So you have finally appeared G**_. _Does this have something to do with Moon and Genesis?_

Angeal grabbed the front of the fat man's shirt and hissed: 'Don't you dare speak my mother's name!'

Hollander ignored Angeal's words and continued as he removed the SOLDIER's gloved hand: 'JENOVA cells were injected into that woman Gillain. Her cells were then directly injected into the fetus known as Genesis.'

Cloud couldn't hold back his surprise gasp at what he had just heard as he remembered everything single thing that Moon had told him and the sadness he saw in his eyes. Also Moon is Genesis and Genesis is Moon.

'But Genesis was a failure. I would never accept something like that. Although Angeal.' The scientist continued and looked at the winged SOLDIER with prideful eyes, completely ignored of the anger and sadness that swirling in the blue glowing eyes of the SOLDIER. 'You received her cells directly. You are perfect.'

Angeal shoved the man away and turned around, not looking at Zack as he said: 'Zack, I'm nothing more than a perfect... Monster.'

As sudden as everything came, everything immediately vanished and were replaced by test pods arranged in order, Cloud was back at the Nibelheim Reactor. _Now what?!_ Cloud thought as he looked up at the metal door where above it the name JENOVA was engraved.

'_Ever since my childhood I could feel it._' Cloud looked at his left side to see Sephiroth standing next to one of the test pods, looking down at his own gloved hands, scared and confused. 'I was different than other people. I always thought I had some kind of special purpose. But I didn't think it would be something like this. Am I even human?'

'Unfortunately no. You are a monster.' A voice filled with malice and anger answered.

Cloud turned to his left to see Zack being engulfed in flame hit the metallic steps of the stair as the silver hair man casts a barrier spell to block a fireball. The blond jumped down the steps to see if the injuries on his friend are serious, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the wounds were small scotches, they were already starting to heal, only the impact of the magical attack had caused some little internal damage, but it will heal, it just needed more time than the physical injuries. Looking at his friend, he found that Zack had changed a _lot_, his black porcupine hair was longer and an X-shape scar over his chin, with Angeal's Buster Sword strapped on his back, he looked like just Angeal himself. _Could Angeal be...?_

The spiky hair blond couldn't finish his sentence, he won't believe of what might have happen and he didn't have time to think about it either, because when he looked up, he saw Genesis landing gracefully on a few steps above him, the top of his coat and his shoulder-guard seemed to be fossilized, cracks appeared here and there. Ages of weariness covered the once youth face and the auburn hair had turned grey and white, just like a dying old tree.

'Sephiroth, you were born out of the JENOVA Project, the greatest monster of all.' Genesis said almost tauntingly.

'GENESIS! So you were alive after all!' Zack shouted madly as he got to his knees, breathing slowly and tried to move as less as he could to let his body recover from the sudden assault.

The decaying man looked down at them, or rather only Zack, since Cloud was non-visible, and smiled as he touched his pale white face and he replied: 'In my current condition can you even say that I am?'

'What does the JENOVA Project have to do with me?' Sephiroth demanded.

The black winged man turned his attention back to the General and explained: 'The JENOVA Project is the general name for the experiment. The experiment that used JENOVA's cells.'

'Using Mother's cells?' The confused man repeated as he looked up at the engraved name on the wall above him.

'Pitiful Sephiroth.' Genesis taunted as he spread his arms wide. 'You've never meet your mother before and the only you ever heard was her name, right?' He sat down on the step. 'I have no idea what she looks like, but what I do know is-'

'GENESIS STOP IT ALREADY!' The injured SOLDIER yelled as he pressed his back against the metal. Cloud looked at the three SOLDIERs back and forth, he knew that all of this were either an illusion or he was a ghost and was seeing things, but he couldn't bear to hear another hurtful word from the once respectful Commander.

'JENOVA is a stratum discovered 2000 years ago. A monster.' The words caused the Great General to back away in fear, like a lost kitten. 'Sephiroth lend me your strength. Otherwise my deterioration won't stop.' Genesis stood up and had the air of the Commander he once was. 'SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth.'

The silver hair swordsman snapped into attention, like all SOLDIERs in Shinra did when their names were called, as the winged man continued: 'Angeal was born out of JENOVA Project G. Just like me born a monster. JENOVA Project S was-'

'S...' Zack repeated and Cloud looked down at his friend, knowing full well of what the meaning of "S" might be.

'Was a project created to make the perfect monster.' Genesis finished.

Shaking his head lightly, Sephiroth asked: 'What is there I can do?'

'You have no power to create clones. Nor does gene doesn't spread.' The decaying man said the last words with certain disgust. 'In other words the deterioration won't happen.'

Cloud put his hands over his ears, he really wanted Genesis to stop talking and he had already heard enough of this "Monster" thing he kept mentioning! The man walked passed him as he said to Sephiroth: 'Lend me your cells. "Your desire. The Goddess's Gift shall foster a life."'

Genesis took out a Dumbapple from his coat and offered it to the General who looked at his friend first before he turned his gaze to the JENOVA engraved name. At that moment, Cloud winced in pain and he clawed his arm with the black rash scars, he felt like something was hammering his head as visions of monster and a helmet-like with the name JENOVA on it. He heard the General letting out a soft gasp, making him wondered if he had also saw what he had seen.

The emotionless mask was placed on the greatest SOLDIER once more as he looked at Genesis and asked calmly: 'Are you trying to confuse me with everything you've just said? Or is it, what I have been looking for is the "truth"?'

'Which ever it may be.' Sephiroth slapped the hand holding the dumbapple away. 'Go decay.'

Then he walked out of the room without another word. Cloud couldn't see the face of the General, but he couldn't guess that he was hurt deeply.

'I understand. It's to be expected of a perfect monster.' The blond looked back at the winged man, he might hate him right now, but he also felt sorry for him. '"The end of the world is brought by the duel of the beasts. The Goddess shall fall form the darkest sky. Spreading her wings of light and darkness. She shall lead us to our paradise. Along with her gift."'

As soon as those words left the lips of the man, everything around Cloud faded and he was now floating over the Lifestream. _Am I seeing the future? Of what might happen or is it already happening?_

_**That is the future that would happen if no one stops the Calamity.**_ A strong power-willed voice echoed in the air. The blond looked around to see where the voice might have come from.

Part of the Lifestream started to form together a young and beautiful blond hair woman, wearing a strange golden armor and white cape draped over her shoulder. Cloud immediately put his hands up in a fighting stance as he asked: 'Who are you?'

The woman didn't answer. Instead she snapped her fingers and the Lifestream beneath Cloud shot up, binding the arms and legs of the Ex-SOLDIER. _**My identity is no longer an importance for you, because you will cease to exist soon.**_

'What do you mean? You'll kill me?' The blond shouted as he struggled to break free from the threads of the Lifestreams.

_**Not quite, your soul will cease to exist, but your vessel shall remain for Gaia's Champion.**_ The strange woman spoke into his mind as she walked gracefully towards him. _**Your existence is no longer needed in this timeline.**_

'I don't understand a thing you are telling me, nor will I accept to not exist!' Cloud yelled as he struggled harder on the restraints.

_**You want to save Genesis, Angeal and Sephiroth.**_ The spiky haired boy looked at the woman surprisingly. The woman made a small gesture with her hand and image of a gargantuan red armored being appeared behind her holding a giant sword that's almost the size as it is, another monster materialized on her left, it had the upper body of Angeal and it was covered with different silver and black parts of other monsters, and to her right, an insane-looking Sephiroth. _**Unfortunately**_ _**you can't change their fate, it is their destinies to discover their origins and return to the Lifestreams. Just like you.**_

The stranger placed her hand on his forehead as she whispered in his mind. _**Do not worry. Gaia's Champion will assure that the planet remain safe from JENOVA. Everything will turn back to the way it should be soon. The beasts shall return to the Lifestreams and the Knight shall be left to guard this world secretly.**_

Cloud suddenly felt lightheaded and his legs started to buckle underneath him, it was like his strength was slowly being sucked out by the gentle hand. _**Everything about you shall return to the way it should be.**_

A vision appeared in Cloud's mind, he was slowly walking towards his room with his friends and his "brother". Then one by one they started to vanish into thin air, leaving him all alone in the corridor. _This is what everything supposes to be... I was never supposed to know any of them... I'm nobody... I couldn't help them or anyone else..._

'_You did well, Zack_.' Another voice echoed in the mind of the boy. Cloud found himself standing in a broken large room where Zack knelt next to Angeal who lay on the floor, almost like a broken mannequin, his face and his shoulder-guard was covered with small cracks, several cuts and bruises on his body. The broken man pulled his large sword up to the spiky-haired teen. 'I'm counting on you for the rest.'

Zack choked back a sob as he carefully took the sword from his dying mentor's hand.

'Never forget your pride.' Angeal reminded his apprentice with a small smile, looking at him proudly before his eyelids fell over the dulled blue eyes. _**Hold on to your dreams. If you want to be a hero you have to hold on to your dreams and also your pride.**_ The dead man's voice echoed in the raven hair teen's mind, but Cloud could also hear it.

The scenery change into a pitch black darkness where Sephiroth who floating in the air without his trademark black coat all bloody, and Cloud had to blinked his eyes a few time to make sure he isn't seeing things, but he is indeed standing in front of the General with the great Buster Sword in his hand tainted with the fresh blood of the silver hair swordsman.

The silver hair man stared defiantly at him before his eyes soften and a smile was formed on his lips as his body slowly disappeared. Soon darkness took over everything in Cloud's vision, leaving him in completely blind in the dark.

_**All I want is your forgiveness... **_The soft gentle words reverberated in Cloud's mind as tears started to form in his sapphire blue eyes, finally realizing the meaning of Moon's words. Moon, or Genesis, was the one the cause of all the destructions and the death of many people, especially the people who he cared the most. The truth that he had revealed had drove Sephiroth insane and he had burned his entire village to the ground, and maybe the reason why Angeal suddenly had two white wings was also caused by him and that he pushed the raven hair SOLDIER off the edge, making Zack ended the man's life for him, all those innocent lives were taken because of a single word "MONSTER". Then he remembered the dying images of Zack and Kadaj in his arms. Are those Moon's fault too?

_No... I refuse to believe that... Moon... Is not like that... NO IT'S NOT TRUE!_ Cloud shouted in his mind. A halo enveloped him, cutting loose the restraints on his limbs and pushed back the armored woman. The Ex-SOLDIER fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain.

_**That's enough! Stop this Minerva!**_ Cloud looked up to see someone standing in front of him, he couldn't see his face, the man had spiky gravity-defying blond hair just like his, had perhaps the same height as he does, he wore turtleneck sweater vest with black pants and combat boots. A black cloak covered his left arm, with a small pauldron, and black half-skirt covered his left leg, he also wore leather gloves and. A large sword, that looked like it was pieced together from different sizes of swords into one, was strapped in the harness attached to his waist.

_**Are defying Gaia's will Cloud Strife?**_ The woman said sternly. Cloud was about to respond, but the man answered instead.

_**Yes, because I cannot accept you erasing his existence so you could put me in his place at his time. Just because he is my past self, doesn't mean we're the same.**_ Cloud tilted his head to one side and caught the glimpse of the man's face. His mysterious savior was just like him, exactly just like him, every single detail of his face, only the sky blue eyes were different, they are older and had a General-like gaze in them. Now he is very confused of what's going on around him and he really wanted to faint, but he can't, not until the threat is gone and he got all the answers to his questions.

_**Both of you are not the same, of course. Your powers are far more powerful than his-**_

_**He is just as strong as I am. **_The spiky hair teen's look-alike interrupted. _**He's even stronger than me.**_

_**Nonsense. The power given by Gaia to you, as her Champion and Savior, had the potential to evolve along with you. He does not have that ability.**_ The woman called Minerva pointed out. Cloud was completely speechless, still digesting the fact that he had some sort of twin beside him.

_**So what if I had that kind of power, I had still lost myself in the darkness, but him. **_The man pointed at Cloud. _**He didn't lose himself, even if he didn't know what's going or what might happen, he still continues to fight for what he cares and cherishes the most. This proves that he is as strong as I am, maybe even stronger.**_

The woman looked unconvinced by his twin's words. The warrior took a step forward and stared at her challengingly, with his hand over the hilt of his sword. _**If you still insist to erase him, then you'll have to fight me.**_

Minerva seemed to be ready to take on the challenge as a long golden staff materialized in her right hand, but both either entities could make a single move, a loud howling sound rang around them. The golden hair teen looked slightly alarmed by the sound, but the woman and his twin looked unfazed and then Minerva knelt on the Lifestreams. _**I will comply with Gaia's wish.**_ She said before dissolving into threads of the Lifestreams. Cloud let out a relief sigh, seeing that the danger of being erase is gone.

_**Need a hand? **_The blond looked at his look-alike who held out his hand to him with small smile, which he took without hesitation. When he got up and staring at the man in front of him, it felt odd somehow. _**It's almost like looking into a mirror, isn't it?**_

'Yeah, I had to agree.' Cloud replied as he let go of the gloved hand. Now that he got a good look at his twin, they really resembled just like the reflection of a mirror. 'Euh... I want to ask... Am I dead?'

_**Well, you aren't exactly **_**dead**_**, more like in between life and dead, so no, you are not dead. **_The words don't comfort Cloud one bit. After all, he might be alive for now and be dead in the next.

'Well then... Could you tell me why that woman tried to erase for Gaia's whatever Champion? Why am I here? And what do you mean by "my past self"?' The young blond decided the change the subject, not wanting dwell into thinking if he might be turning into a zombie or something labeled as "undead".

_**First, the Gaia's whatever Champion you are talking about is me, but I don't care about that title anyway. Second, you are here, because you got shot from behind and fell into the Lifestreams. Yazoo really seems to enjoy shooting people from behind. And for your last question, I'm you from your future and you are me in my past. Also, we don't have much time to talk more in details.**_

Cloud took a few minutes to comprehend the information that his "future him" gave. First, he will become the planet's Champion in the future, for what reason, he doesn't know nor does he care. Second, he'll probably get a mako poisoning problem from the wound he had received even if he could get back among the living. Third, HE IS TALKING TO HIMSELF RIGHT NOW! Not really himself, but him from the distant future. GAIA! He is really going to end up in a mad house if more strange things appeared! Last, but not least-

'What do you mean we don't have much time?' The younger blond asked.

_**JENOVA is already making her way towards Midgar, she is planning to destroy Gaia from that location, seeing that it was the weak spot of the planet. Minerva had pulled me out of my time before it'd vanished...**_ Hearing the sad tone of his twin, Cloud muttered a small apology. _**It's not your fault. It's only a matter of time before your actions might affect my timeline anyway. Minerva thought that I would be more useful than you are for the upcoming battle against JENOVA, so she tried to erase you and put me in your body.**_

'Then why didn't you let her do that then? I wasn't as strong as Spehiroth, or as smart as Angeal might be, I don't have Zack's natural instinct or as tricky as Genesis!' The Ex-SOLDIER shouted at the older blond, knowing that he is only skill was ice magic, which is proven to be utterly useless against JENOVA when he fought that centaur-like creature at the abandoned mansion.

_**Are you deaf or something? Didn't you hear what I had said to Minerva, like in a few minutes ago?**_ The older Cloud asked as he ran his hand through the back of his yellow hair. _**When you had lost both Kadaj and Genesis, you should normally be unconfident and scared of everything after facing something like that, but you still continued on your way with more determination than when you want to join SOLDIER.**_

Gaia's Champion let his own past self some times to digest his words before he continued. _**Back then, I had lost myself in those insane experiments of Hojo, pieces of myself had broken off from my whole soul, making me incomplete. When Zack died, at the outskirt of Midgar, he had given me part of himself to complete me temporally, until I could find the lost pieces of my own puzzled soul. Yet you, you haven't lost yourself or let yourself be broken into piece, you kept dragging on and on, for your own purpose, but me? I had taken too much time to fix myself and in the process, I had hurt other accidentally more than I did to myself.**_

A moment of tensed silence followed, the younger Cloud was trying to understand what usefulness he could be of being able to survive from an almost psychological breakdown over and over again, while the older one was trying to keep his memories in place. Their mental organizing was interrupted by a sudden howling sound similar to the last one echoed around them.

_**Looks like it's time for you to leave. **_Cloud's older twin said as he pulled out his large broad sword from its harness and handed to him. _**Take First Tsurugi, my power, my memories, everything that you'll need eventually in the battle.**_

'Now wait a second!' The young blond shouted as he pushed the sword back to its owner. 'You are the one who should go back, not me. I don't know a thing about JENOVA, other than she is an alien and a threat to the world. Besides, you know her weakness more than I do and you have probably beaten her couple of time if that Minerva had decided to erase me for you take over my body.'

_**Twice or thrice, if I count the time I threw her into the Lifestreams.**_ Gaia's Champion answered as he pushed his sword to his younger self again. _**But that's not a perfect reason why I should go. And your timeline is a complete stranger to me, I don't belong there.**_

'You did _say_ that I'm _your_ past self. So what's so difficult to just imitate me?' Cloud asked as he shoved the blade back.

_**I can't smile. I... Kind of forgot how... **_This had caused the younger blond to stare at his counterpart suspiciously. _**Well, I remember how to smile, but I don't really like to smile, it makes me looks like Zack.**_

_**HEY! THAT'S VERY MEAN CLOUDY!**_ A new voice joined them, both blond hair men looked to their left to see a raven spiky hair man in 1st Class SOLDIER uniform known as Zack Fair pouting at them, or to Cloud's older twin to be exact. _**And Gaia sent me to tell you guys to make your choice already, or the body won't be able to handle the pressure of the large amount of Lifestreams in it and THAT is not something that not any one of us wants to happen.**_

_**We have already made a choice.**_ The older Cloud replied sternly before he turned his attention back to his counterpart. _**Listen Cloud, you and I are more different than you think. And- **_He placed his gloved hand over the younger boy's shoulder. _**Kadaj will probably kill me if he knew that I'm not really you. They need you there as much as I am needed here where my friends are.**_

Without giving him time to think of a reply or a protest, the Savior of Gaia shoved his most precious sword into the hands of his younger self. Cloud looked at the weapon in his hand, feeling the blade's strength running through his fingertips, like telling him it had already accept him as its new master and was ready to fight beside him.

_**Just remember Cloud. You always have friends close to you. You aren't fighting JENOVA all alone.**_ The older blond said as he backed away._** Say hello to mother for me.**_

_**See ya Little Spiky! **_Zack shouted enthusiastically as the Lifestreams started to gather around the Ex-SOLDIER.

If Cloud could, he would punch some reasoning into this alternated Zack's skull _hard_, because being called Spiky, Chocobo or Cloudy is already worse enough, putting "little" before them is even worse! Since he couldn't move anymore, he could do nothing more than to sigh mentally in annoyance and praying that the Zack in his time would grow up one day or another as he slowly fell into an exhausted sleep.

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**I think this might be longest and the hardest chapter that I had ever done! And I got tests coming up! The next chapter might not be upload very soon, so I apologize for now, but I'll try make the next one better! Thank you everyone who had read "The Endless Cycle"!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Hope you'll enjoy another new chapter!**

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Connected

After what seems like an eternity, Cloud's eyes finally opened, but his vision was completely blurry mixed with an odd color of green. _Mako._ The blond thought as he recalled that he had fallen into the Lifestreams and met his future self and the future Zack. When his vision on things was more accurate, he looked around him. He was lying on an old bed of an abandoned wooden house, on his left side there is a chair and a small wooden nightstand, the large pieced sword that he had been given was rested against the wall at the end of the bed, a small window next to him. He sat up tiredly on his bed and looked outside through the dusty glass. He could see a field of white snow covering the ground and every tree outside. Seeing that the sun had risen to the top of the sky, Cloud guessed that it should be around noon right now.

'So you are awake.' A soft gentle voice spoke out.

The blond turned his gaze away from the window to meet a pair of blue familiar azure eyes. He was about to say his friend's name, when he noticed something is missing in those eyes, the sadness and the guiltiness weren't there, so he knew that this is-

'Genesis.' Cloud said the name in a soft whisper.

The auburn hair man didn't say anything as he just made his way to the chair next to him, gently lifting up his left arm like a doctor trying to see if there are any fractures and dislocations of the bones, which was covered by a single black sleeve, much to Cloud's surprise, because he couldn't remember that his SOLDIER uniform had a sleeve before and the black cloth he used to cover the black scars on his arm was in bits. Then the spiky hair boy remembered the words of his counterpart, saying that he gave him everything he had that will be useful for the upcoming battle against JENOVA, guessed when his future self said everything he meant the clothes as well. Yet what attracted him the most was the design on the black shoulder pauldron, it was a silver wolf holding a ring over its mouth, which is a pretty odd, but unique design.

'The Geostigma on your arm had completely disappeared.' The crimson Commander muttered as he released his hold on the clothed arm. 'Who are you?'

'Huh? What do you mean by who I am?' Cloud asked, not catching the meaning of Genesis's words.

'I want to know who you are: the boy who dreamed to be like Spehiroth one day, the cadet who had failed his test to become a SOLDIER, the materia-skilled SOLDIER 3rd Class, the Ex-SOLDIER, the mercenary, one of Gaia's heroes, her Champion or the Savior of the world?' Genesis asked as he stared deep into the blue sapphire eyes of the blond.

'I... I'm...' The blond hair boy doesn't know what to say, he quickly looked away from the auburn hair man. Who is he? After receiving the powers of his counterpart, does that made him different from whom he is? Is he now the Cloud Strife of the future?

_**You and I are more different than you think.**_

_How different are we really?_ Cloud asked himself mentally as he unconsciously reached to clench the red orb in his sweater. _Moon._ He glanced at the man sitting next to him for a second before he closed his eyes. _Moon is Genesis and Genesis is Moon, just like me and the other me from the future... But still... Moon is different from Genesis._

'I'm...' Cloud reopened his eyes and stared into his Commander's eyes. 'Simply Cloud Strife...'

A smile was formed on the auburn hair man's face as he said: 'That's what I expect to hear from Gaia's Chosen Champion. I shall accept my role as her Secret Knight.'

'Huh?' Cloud remembered that when Kadaj was possessed by JENOVA, he had mentioned something about Moon being the Secret Knight of Gaia, but is Genesis really going to accept something like that so simply? If he had a choice, he'll rather just be a simple delivery boy than being a Champion or Savior. _Delivery boy? Where did that come from?_

'Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess  
We seek it thus, and take it to the sky  
Ripples form on the water's surface  
The wandering soul knows no rest..'

After Genesis had finished quoting, Cloud finished his sentence: 'Loveless Act I. Right?'

Genesis chuckled lightly as he replied: 'You are really more interesting than I have seen in my visions.'

'Visions?' The blond repeated.

'I have been having visions of you since I had made it to First Class. I saw you entered Shinra, your efforts to make it into SOLDIER and you with my... Future self, shall I say...' The man trailed off as if unsure if he should continue this conversation.

Cloud was about to tell him to continue, but Genesis beats him to it. 'Could you answer that question that Kadaj had asked you at the Science Department? About why you let Moon kissed you?'

'WH-WHAT?! N-NO I-I DIDN'T! I WAS ABOUT TO... NO I MEAN... I... OH GAIA!' The blond hid his face in his hands, unable to face the man, his cheeks was as red as a full blossomed rose. He really doesn't _like_ the situation he is in right now! It was like confessing indirectly to Moon!

'Do you love him?' This question caused the tips of Cloud's ears to redden slightly as he replied he doesn't know.

'Then do you love me?' Genesis asked in casual tone.

The Ex-SOLDIER made some sort of chocking sound before he looked up and he stuttered: 'I-It-It's the same thing!'

The copper bangs of the man hid his eyes from the boy, making it hard to guess what's the man was thinking, but judging by the neutral tone he used to tell him to rest, Cloud could guessed that the man was not really content with his answer. When the crimson coated man left the wooden house, the blond fell back onto the bed with his body heavier than before, hoping that he will fall asleep again and forget this whole conversation.

_Do I love Moon? Do I love you? How should I know? Moon had always been by my side and I feel safe whenever he was with me... Genesis, you... You just looked after me, from afar... Even though we didn't spent a lot of time together, I could trust you as easily as I trust Moon... But does that mean I love you too...? Is this even love? GAIA! THIS IS A MESS!_

With that many unanswered questions and unwanted thoughts swirling in his mind, Cloud fell once more into a restless sleep.

***

The Ex-SOLDIER only woke up when the sun was at its twilight, his body was lighter and his strength seemed to have return, but he doesn't feel like getting up and walk around the room. He turned to face the window and curled into a tight ball on the bed, planning on what he should do and say to Genesis when he comes back from whatever thing he was doing during all those hours while he was sleeping, as he removed the black gloves on his hands and placed them next to the pillow.

Hearing the sound of shuffling footsteps coming from outside, Cloud, not sure he was ready to confront the auburn hair man yet, decided to close his eyes shut and pretended he was still sleeping.

The blond held his breath when he heard the door opened and closed, he could feel his heart beating slightly faster as the footsteps approached his bed and stopped right behind him. He almost flinched when Genesis sat down on the bed next to him.

'I hate you.' Cloud almost let out a gasp at the three simple words. 'That's what I had thought at first when I first saw you in my dreams and visions. You seemed stronger than me and even more determined than I am when I first join SOLDIER. Even after you had failed your exams to enter SOLDIER, you still continue to believe that you'll make it one day, that's why I hate you. You made feel like I didn't do enough in my life, that I had been doing nothing than sweeping the floor for your grand arrival.'

Cloud lay perfectly still and listening to every word spoken by the somehow calm Commander as the man continued: 'I felt threaten by you, but when I saw that you need someone's help, I thought that I didn't need to worry, because you are still weak. I was wrong and I became more restless when you joined SOLDIER.'

'I really wanted to crush when you came to my office that day, but I couldn't... You seemed more different than when you were in my dreams. You were... Glowing... When you were on the stage, you are beautiful... I really laugh at myself that night at the bar, telling myself that I am going crazy, but I took those words back when I had heard what you had said that day.' Cloud cracked his left eye opened and stole a glance over his shoulder at the auburn hair man sitting next to him, who is staring at the closed door with a faraway look like he is seeing the narrow future in front of him, before he closed his eye again.

'That day, I had received a mission from Lazard, asking me to go to Wutai and I could choose another SOLDIER to accompany me. You are the first person who I had thought of, so I decided to announce the news to you personally, but instead I had overheard your little conversation with Zack.' The blond couldn't help, but grimaced slightly at the thought of the childish conversation he had with Zack.

'I thank you for your words and understanding, but I hope that you'll understand now that I am no longer human. Just like my future self. I'm a monster.'

After hearing the word "monster", Cloud gritted his teeth, he was mad, in fact, he is beyond mad. Stopped pretending to be asleep, he sat up and said angrily: 'Monster. Monster. Monster. Is that all you have to say?! Who could be consider as a human and who could be call a monster?!'

The crimson coated man didn't seemed surprised by the blond outburst or the fact that he wasn't sleeping all along as he got up from the bed without turning around to face the blond or saying a word and walked to the middle of the room, then he placed his left hand on his forehead like praying and a large black wing burst out of his left shoulder.

'What would you call this? The wing of an angel or a monster?' Genesis turned around, as his wing curled around him, and looked straight into the sapphire blue eyes of the blond. 'Angels don't have black wings... Only monsters have them. You fear it, don't you?'

Cloud looked down at his hands sadly as he replied: 'Yes, I did, but-' His hand clenched into tight fists. 'I don't think of you as a monster... You could have let me die or kill me while I'm still sleeping, but you didn't...'

'That doesn't make-'

'That makes all the difference!' The blond shouted furiously as he got off the bed and stood up. 'That's what makes a person a human or a monster! You had saved me, isn't that enough of a reason to prove that you are still human! Having a wing on your back, doesn't mean that you are monster! Why can't you see that? Why can't you accept it? Why can't you give anyone a chance to accept you like this? WHY?'

Genesis stared at him emotionlessly for a moment before he closed his eyes and whispered softly: 'You are really special Cloud Strife. You can see things that I can't and help those who are around you with all you have. How can I not see?'

The Ex-SOLDIER quietly walked towards the man and reached out to caress his face gently, this action caused the winged man to stare at him strangely, as he replied with a wide smile: 'Then why don't you start by opening your eyes now? That will be a good start, right?'

The auburn hair man's bright azure eyes stared into the sky blue ones. For a moment, Cloud thought that it was Moon who is standing in front of him and he felt mesmerized by those glowing orbs just like when they were at the fountain next to the Loveless Street. It was like both he and Moon were connected to each other.

Then Genesis leaned down and pressed his lips against the smaller ones. Cloud's eyes widen slightly at the sudden contact and the strange warmth that was growing in him, part of him wanted to pull away, but another part of him told him to stay close to this man. _What is this feeling?_ _It's so... Warm... _Cloud thought as Genesis deepens their kiss.

When the man pulled back a little and placed his chin on the boy's shoulder, embracing the lithe form in his arms, he asked: 'Could I hold you? Even if it's just for tonight, could I?'

The blond blinked his eyes in surprise at the request which sounded almost desperate. He wondered why the crimson Commander asked him that. Then he remembered what Genesis's parent had said in the visions of the future and how they treated him. He couldn't imagine what the auburn hair man might have felt, because he had always his own mother supporting and encouraging him. For some reason, it pained him to think how Genesis had suffered for the consequence of others. He didn't really did anything really wrong to others, he had done what he was ordered to do, but in the end, he was the one who must suffer, everything and all alone.

Cloud returned the hug and let his eyes closed. This was the only thing he could do to comfort Genesis, the only way to give him something that had always been missing in his life... Something that he never had in his whole life until now... Even if what he gives to him now doesn't last forever, he just wishes that Genesis had at the very least a moment of peace, by giving him the love and care he deserved.

_I... I won't let you be forgotten... You and Moon... I'll make sure that that future won't happen... No one needs to die for saving the world from a frozen corps. I'll make sure of that._ Cloud thought as he pulled the man closer to him. For a moment, he thought he could feel Moon's warmth emanating from Genesis, like he was holding his longtime friend instead of the crimson coated SOLDIER.

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**After spending two weeks filled with tests, I had survived my little trip from Hell itself and some annoying writer's blocks, I had finally accomplished this chapter. But I think I kind of screw it, so please tell me if this chapter is good or bad, so I could improve the next one. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAD READ AND REVIEWED "The Endless Cycle"!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Enjoy another new chapter!**

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Protect or Protected

Sapphire blue eyes opened themselves when the first rays of the sun shone over the mountains and through the single window of the abandoned wooden house in the cold snowy mountain. The first thing he noticed was the auburn hair man who is sleeping next to him on the bed with his black wing covering both of them like a blanket, keeping them warm from the cold, just like Moon did at the basement of the Shinra Mansion. At first, the weight of the wing on him felt a little weird, but somehow familiar at the same time.

Then Cloud turned his attention to the face of the sleeping man, who wore a peaceful expression that he hasn't seen before. The longer he stared at that face, the more it resembled to Moon's face. _Will I ever see this face again? After defeating JENOVA...?_ The blond couldn't answer that question and an uneasy feeling slowly started to take place in his heart.

'Everything is going to be alright...' Cloud repeated this softly like a mantra, with his eyes closed, trying to convince himself that there is nothing to worry about.

The Ex-SOLDIER only stopped his muttering when a hand grabbed his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He opened his eyes to see bright azure eyes staring back at him. The auburn hair man removed his red gloved hand from the boy's and moved up to the young face, where he brushed his fingertips over the soft cheek in an comforting gesture.

'No matter what's going to happen, I'll protect you...' Genesis whispered softly.

Cloud, feeling a little uncomfortable in this position and this closeness between them, averted the gaze of the Commander, looking down and said: 'I don't want to be protected...'

Genesis stopped brushing his cheek at his words for a few seconds before he resumed his gentle action as he replied: 'I didn't want to protect you because you need to be protected. I want to protect you, because you are precious to me.'

Sky blue eyes looked up, surprised and embarrassed. The crimson coated man pulled the smaller body against his as he continued: 'You are the only reason why I still exist as... A human... That's why I don't want to lose you. You are my only connection to my human self, without you, I would have become a monster and I'll be forgotten.'

Both of them stayed close to each other for a moment, like trying to prolong the time they will stay together till it is time to leave. Then Genesis, almost reluctantly, pulled away from the blond and got up with his wing curled around him.

'We're going to leave in 30 minutes.' was as all that the auburn hair man said before he walked out to the house without glancing back at the boy who had sat up.

Cloud stared at the spot where the man was just a few seconds ago, thinking about those truthful words that was spoken to him. After a few minutes, letting out a heavy sigh, the blond decided to put them in the back of his mind for now as he got off the bed and did a few stretching exercises for his stiff limbs, even though he had probably spent days on the bed without moving a lot, he doesn't feel the least of the heavy weight over his body like a Third Class SOLDIER should feel, he simply felt weightless.

_Maybe my body had already absorbed and adapted to all the extra mako I had taken from the Lifestreams. _The Ex-SOLDIER thought as he walked towards the large sword and took it in his hand, it looked like it was glowing slightly, but it might be the sunlight instead. He pulled it up and spun it a few turn before he put it back into the harness behind him. The strange weapon was almost as light as a small wooden stick. _It's definitely the mako doing its work on my muscles._

He picked up the black gloves he had removed last night, while putting them on, he noticed that his gloves had also the wolf design on them, but in a smaller size. _A lone wolf huh?_ Cloud thought almost bitterly as he remembered how distant he was from the others when he was a kid. He shook his head to clear out the unwanted memories and concentrated on the present. _The past is the past, you can't change it. The only changes you could make are what you do from now on._

With that thought in mind, the blond turned to the door and left the place where he had spent for at least three days resting on the not-so-comfortable mattress. Stepping into the silver white snow outside, Cloud, being born in a cold region, couldn't help, but smiled brightly as he inhaled the pure cold air of the mountains. It smelled just like the air at his hometown, but purer, it doesn't have a single smell of mako or monster-like stench. The view is even better! The sunlight had colored the snow with its golden brightness, turning the mountains into sand dunes.

Cloud crouched down, taking a handful of snow and threw them up into the air. The tiny snowflakes, caught by the chilly wind, swirled around the blond hair swordsman like fairy dust. He laughed full heartedly as he continued throwing snow around him like a five-years-old little kid, but he didn't find himself being ashamed at his childishness or feeling stupid. _How long I didn't laugh like that? How long I didn't play with the snow? Too long..._ The young blond thought as he stared up at the wide blue sky.

Somehow, he can't believe that it had been what? Five? Seven years? Gaia! He never even realized that he had missed not only his mother, but the snow too! Seven years... He had spent seven years pursuing his dream to become a powerful SOLDIER like Sephiroth. He had never thought about the time that flew passed him during those seven long years. How much he had missed. His whole childhood had passed away without him really noticing it and he had lost that innocent and naïve nature of a child.

No. He didn't miss something, because Kadaj and Moon have filled the gaps in his childhood. Like hanging out with friends just like every teenager in the world would do, dragging unwilling friends out for party (he still haven't completely forget or forgive Zack for his _great party plan_ and Kadaj, for helping the raven hair teen), etc.

_I should really enjoy every second I have. I might not be able to enjoy them after I battle JENOVA._ Shaking his head, trying to get rid of the negative thoughts about what might happen to him and his friends if he fails. _Everything is going to be fine... Just like Moon and... Genesis... Had promised..._

'You love the snow, don't you?' Speak of the devil and he will appear. Turning around, Cloud looked at the auburn hair man who stood a few feet away from him, with his large black wing outstretched.

He answered with a small shy smile as he ran his hand over his blond spiky hair nervously: 'A little bit. It has been a while since I had played with the snow. I guess I got a _little _carry away...'

Genesis chuckled softly before he walked towards Cloud and said: 'I never really saw the snow. Because it never snows at Banora and I was rarely sent on mission to the northern region.'

'When I saw you falling into the Lifestreams... In my visions... I can feel you more closely... And this feeling had somehow leaded me here...' The red coated man gestured to his surrounding. 'I had found you deep inside an abandoned mako Reactor not far from here. I was worry... You were covered in mako, but you seemed to absorb them as fast as I do and your wounds were healed, so I decided to move you to this wooden house, where you could rest without absorbing more mako. While you were still unconscious, I was able to see and feel for the first time the snow...'

Seeing the genuine smile on Genesis face made Cloud smiled too as he asked: 'It's pretty beautiful, isn't it?'

Genesis simply nodded his head before he offered the blond his hand and asked: 'Are you ready for the next step of our journey?'

The Ex-SOLDIER didn't bother to answer and accepted the offered hand. The auburn hair man pulled him close to him and wrapped an arm around his waist, while Cloud rested a hand over the man's shoulder, gripping the coat tightly.

The crimson Commander smirked at the young warrior's uneasiness before he leaned over his ear and whispered: 'You don't need to be afraid. Flying is a very enjoyable feeling.'

The words spoken by Genesis were almost like the incantation of a spell, it immediately made Cloud's muscles relax and put his mind at ease. Then they soared into the bright welcoming sky above them.

***

The two heroes flew for two hours and were already above the wide ocean that separated the Northern Continent and the Eastern Continent, where Midgar is located. Cloud glanced at his winged friend worriedly, because ever since they had reached the ocean, he got the feeling that something's wrong with Genesis, like he was in a deep pain of some kind, even though the man's face was void of emotion of any sort, he could still feel something emanating from the man that worried him, but he knew that the Commander knew his own limits and won't endanger him, so he pushed the strange feeling aside and enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing through his yellow bangs.

A sudden sound caught Cloud's attention, the sound of a dozen of motors. Looking at their right side, he could see a large black airship approaching in their direction. Cloud recognized it as the Highwind, the airship in a poster in the Showcase Room in Shinra Headquarter.

_Does that means they had found us?_ _But something's not right..._ The blond thought as he sensed some familiar _auras_ aboard the ship and the transportation itself.

'That's our lift.' Genesis said as they turned towards the flying transportation. The young swordsman didn't protest, even though they might be going aboard an enemy's ship, trusting his Commander's decision.

Both of them landed gracefully on the wooden floor of the main deck, facing the only door that leads into the ship's complexity. Cloud let go of the coat of his friend and stepped back. Seeing a slight frown on the face of his winged friend, the worries that was shoved into the deepest and the darkest part of his mind was slowly resurfacing. He was about to ask Genesis if he is feeling alright, but before he could do that, the metallic door burst opened and a panting silver hair teen leaning on the doorframe.

When the cat-like eyes fell on the young blond hair swordsman, a large smile graced the silver hair teen as he dashed towards Cloud and yelled 'NII-SAN!' throwing himself on the spiky hair teen and pulled him into a bear-like hug, with his face buried on the other's shoulder.

'Nice to see again too Kadaj... But you are kind of chocking me here.' Cloud said after a moment.

'You worried me to Hell Nii-san...' The blond heard Kadaj's sobbing response and he could feel the dampness on his sweater.

He gently placed his hands over the back of his "brother", where his fingertips smoothed the tensed muscles underneath the black leather, while he whispered comforting words to the young boy like a mother did to a frighten child: 'It's ok Kadaj, I'm here now. I'm not going to disappear or anything, I'll just be here.'

'Promise?' Kadaj asked as he pulled back a little and looked into the blue sky eyes of the blond with his slightly red green orbs.

Cloud rolled his eyes in exasperation before he ruffled the hair of the silver hair teen playfully as he answered: 'Promise. Now can you let go of me? You little devil incarnated!'

Kadaj laughed as he pulled back from the blond and caught the hand that was ruffling his hair, and then he pulled the swordsman towards the entrance saying: 'Come on, Nii-san! You gotta see what's inside looks like.'

'Su-sure...' Cloud replied hesitantly as images flashed in his mind. He was standing on the deck of the ship, looking around him; a blond hair man in his early thirties stood next to the pilot controls smoking a cigarette, a muscular black man with a right gun-arm, a red lion-like creature with a flaming tail stood next to Vincent at the back, a short petite brunette wearing a white headband and a large white protective gauntlet over her left arm, next to her was Tifa who wore a white shirt that bares her stomach with a black miniskirt, beside her was a robotic toy-cat of some kind sitting on top of a giant mechanic stuffed toy Moogle.

_**That's your team, or rather your future self's team...**_ The young blond looked over his shoulder to see Genesis following them a few steps behind.

_I know, but still... It's a little weird to know certain things about the future..._ Cloud told Genesis telepathically as the three of them walked passed a little girl, looking slightly green, crouching over the railing of a metal bridge opposite of the one they were on. _And seeing a younger version of one of the team's members._

When they reached the Command Deck of the ship, they were greeted by an irritated-looking blond hair man who, when they stepped in, stomped towards the auburn hair man and shouted: 'There you are you goddamn Lunatic! I was about to wonder if you have died in the Chocobo Stable or something!'

'The "Lunatic" you are referring to, Cid Highwind, is behind the one who you are shouting at.' A smooth voice said, causing everyone's attention to turn at the deck's entrance.

'HOLY SHIT!' Cid shouted out loud as he jumped back, pointing at the two auburn hair men. 'YOU TWO ARE TWINS!'

_I wouldn't be so sure, if I were you. _Cloud thought as he smirked in amusement at the scene before him, holding the hand of Kadaj tightly in his. For once, after everything he had been through, he was finally feeling safe, seeing that the three most important friends he cared for were now standing with him.

***

After their little amusing misunderstanding, Cid announced to them that they will reach Midgar around midnight and told them to get some good rest or he'll impale them with his spear. Kadaj had dragged him all over the ship to show things, which he had already seen in the memories of his future self, but it's still interesting to see the ship in a _cleaner_ state. His little tour took like hours, an hour for each room they visited, before his silver hair guide decided that he should rest and left him alone in a small room with a single bed and chair, but since he had already slept for almost a week, Cloud decided to go the Main Deck for some fresh air.

The night's darkness had already took over the bright clear sky, only the stars hung over the black cloth of the night shone brightly in this endless darkness. Cloud walked towards the railing and resting his arms over it, his gaze lost in the sea of shiny gems on the sky.

He stared at them for a very long time before he felt a presence behind him, but he doesn't need to turn around to see who's behind him as he asked: 'Do you mind if I ask you to join me?'

_**Looks like your instincts had sharpened since we got separated...**_ Moon replied in his mind as he walked to his side. The young swordsman shook his head.

'No, I don't think it's my instincts.' The blond told the auburn hair man as he looked into the azure bright eyes. 'I think it's my heart that had told me it was you.'

Moon simply shrugged and turned to stare at the stars just like the blond a few seconds ago and the blond returned his gaze to them too, but his blue sky eyes couldn't focus on them like he did before the man came, the uneasiness seemed to haunt him every time he is close to either Moon or Genesis.

'Moon...' Cloud said the name barely above a whisper. 'Are we all going to be alright?'

'Why do you ask?'

'I don't know, I'm just... Worry, I guess...' It's as simple as he could put it in words for this uneasiness he felt. Something kept telling him that something's wrong, it's like he is walking weaponless in a pitch black forest where beasts and demons were waiting for him to come closer to them and eat him raw, but at the same time, it was like he was walking in an too quiet and too empty corridor with only one door in front of him. The mere thought of it made Cloud shivered and wrapped his arms around himself.

Then he felt Moon's arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer to his chest, this action caused the young blond to blush slightly, and rested his forehead against his with his eyes closed as he said: 'Don't worry. I'll protect you.'

_Why is everyone thinking that I need to be protected?_ Cloud wondered before he voiced it out loud.

'I didn't want to protect you because you need to be protected. It is because you are important to me...' Moon replied as he reopened his eyes and pulled back a little, his arms fell to the boy's waist. 'I don't want to lose you...'

The young swordsman was staring deep into the azure blue eyes as the man said those words, all he saw in those eyes were truthfulness and genuine feelings. He slowly, almost hesitantly, placed his hands on the face of his friend, feeling and tracing every curve and every detail of his features. When his hands had remembered everything, he placed them on the winged man's shoulders and pressed his lips against his, closing his eyes, wanting the warmth he had felt before, which had made him forget the burdens he had.

Cloud felt Moon became still for moment, surprised by his action probably, but he didn't care, he just want this moment to last as long as it could, so he could keep it deep inside his sea of memories, where it will stay forever. A memory made after infusing himself with his future self's memories, a memory which hadn't been modified by himself or someone else, a memory that truly belongs to him.

The blond only pulled back when he felt his lungs were burning for the need of air and rested his head on Moon's chest, listening to his heartbeats, which calmed his spirit. The crimson coated man lifted one hand up and ran his fingers through the unruly blond spikes of the young swordsman in his arms.

_**Remember Cloud, I'll always be there when you needed me, when you call out my name. I promise I'll be there...**_ Moon whispered gently in his mind.

Protect others or being protected, no longer bothered Cloud anymore. Because he had a promise, a promise that someone will always be there for him. No one, not even JENOVA or Gaia, will be able to break that promise. He knew that Moon will make sure of that.

_I know you will... _Cloud replied mentally as a smile graced his lips.

* * *

**I don't know why I am having so much trouble to continue writing things that my mind started to imagine scene as stupid as this one. Please review and tell what you guys think about it! I'm really going to try and speed things up for next chapter! So stay tune!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.**

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The World's End Part 1

'**What ****the fucking hell?!**' Someone shouted loudly in the intercom. Cloud and Moon quickly let go of each other in surprised. '**What's the fucking hell going on there?!**'

The Ex-SOLDIER looked over the railing, narrowing his eyes slightly he could see more or less clearly black smokes rising and fire burning Midgar. _Is JENOVA already making her move? _

'**Highwind! Full speed ahead!**' Cloud heard Genesis ordered in the intercom.

'**HEY! I'M THE CAPTAIN HERE!**'

If it wasn't because of the gravity of the situation, Cloud would have laughed out loud. He quickly got over to the speaker next to the door, pressing the button which connected the speaker to the Command Deck and spoke into it: 'We have to hurry Cid! We don't know how much time we have left before JENOVA blows the whole place up!'

'**YOU GUYS SHUT THE HELL UP! OR I'LL THROW ALL OF YOU OFF BOARD! I'M THE CAPTAIN HERE! SO I DECIDE WHAT TO DO!**' The young blond winced at the volume of the angry voice through the intercom. Having enhanced hearing could be a problem sometimes. '**SO SHUT UP AND HOLD ONTO SOMETHING!**'

As he finished that sentence, the ship shook a little before it rushed towards the flaming city. Cloud lost his balance when the airship did that, but he was quickly caught by Moon who held him close as the view of Midgar grew bigger and bigger as they approached it.

When the Highwind was hovering a feet from the ground near the main gates of Midgar, Cloud jumped over the railing, followed by Moon who flew instead, and landed gracefully on the ground. Then he looked up to see Kadaj, Vincent and Genesis jumping off the Main Deck.

'The old man's going to stay in his ship, so it'll be up and running whenever we need it.' The silver hair teen told Cloud as they were about to go through the gate.

'HEY! WAIT UP!' They heard someone shouted above them, they looked back to see a little short black hair girl jumping on the Main Deck. 'I'M COMING TOO!'

'No, Yuffie, you are going to stay there!' The blond yelled out as he pointed at the girl who looked at him in surprise, he had completely forgot that they have really met yet, but the presentation will have to wait. 'And beside, we need someone to guard the ship from the monster, good luck!'

With that Cloud and the others just ran towards the main street without looking back, even though the blond knew that the little ninja could be quite persistence sometimes, but they don't have time to argue.

'Kadaj, can you sense where JENOVA is?' The blond hair warrior asked as they turned to a narrow alley that leads to the Loveless Street.

'I could sense her, but faintly, it's like she is very far away, but close to us at the same time.' Kadaj replied as he tried to concentrate harder to locate the alien life form.

'Is she still in the Lifestreams?' Cloud asked as they ran down the stairs.

Before the silver hair teen could reply dozen of black creatures jumped out of no where, baring their fangs and claws at them. The Ex-SOLDIER's blue eyes flared up instantly, his arm outstretched as he shouted: 'Get out of my way!'

All the beasts instantly turned into ice and shattered into million of pieces. Kadaj let out a small whistle as he said: 'That's one heck of a ice spell you used Nii-san.'

_That's not exactly what I expect to cast, but still it's great._ Cloud thought as they reached the Loveless Street where a pack of the shadow beasts were surrounding Director Lazard and the red lion-like beast, that he knew as Nanaki or Red XIII from his future self's memories. The Ex-SOLDIER was about to lift his hand up to cast another powerful ice spell, but Moon and Genesis beat him to it, both of them summoned dozen of fireballs and incinerated the whole pack in a minute. When the flames disappeared, Cloud rushed towards the man and the beast.

'Director! Are you alright?' The blond hair swordsman asked Lazard.

'Yes, I'm fine, Strife, thanks to my feline friend here that I had freed from the lab when these monsters attacked the building.' The blond hair man gestured to the beast beside him. 'And your help of course.'

'I see.' Cloud knelt next to the red lion-like creature. 'Thank you Nanaki, are you injured?'

The beast blinked in surprised before it replied: 'I'm not injured, but how did you know my name?'

The blond hair warrior smiled as he patted the beast's head affectionately and answered: 'Let's just say that a _friend_ of mine _told_ me a little bit about you.'

Then he got up and asked the Director of SOLDIER: 'Sir, what did happen inside the building?'

Lazard adjusted his glasses before he said: 'Well, Sephiroth, Angeal, Zack and everyone had returned from their assignments, they were about to report to me, when suddenly these monsters came out of no where and started causing havocs both inside and outside of the building, everything is out of control. I have sent every SOLDIER I had to help the employees and the civilians. Angeal and Zack were already evacuating as much people as they could, but there isn't enough transportation to evacuate everybody or enough SOLDIERs to guard a whole group of people and lead them all the way to Kalm. Sephiroth was dispatching the monsters with some other First Classes. I decided that I should remain behind to help with the plans of evacuation, but something or _someone_ had cut out all my communication systems.'

'Hojo?' Genesis asked.

'Either it's him or Hollander. Before the beasts attacked, the two of them are acting, let's say, _strangely_ and they were heading to the underground basement. Anyway, after that, the monsters had reached the upper levels of the building and I was able to outrun them in the Science Department, from there I had freed Nanaki, who had in turn helped me to escape.' Lazard finished before he took noticed of the two auburn hair men. 'Genesis, your report had never mentioned that you had a twin brother.'

'Sorry, Director, we'll explain this later. For now, we have split up into two teams, one will help the evacuation of the people and the other will head for the Shinra Building. Vincent, could you go with Director Lazard and Nanaki for helping the evacuation?' Cloud asked the long raven hair man who simply nodded his head in acknowledgement. 'And the rest of us will finish up the monsters. Are there any objection?'

Everyone shook their head.

'Don't worry about the evacuation process. I had been able to contact Rufus before I got cut off. He and the Turks will be ready to evacuate us all when we had finished searching for any survivors.' Lazard said.

'Good, let's meet up here when we're finish.' With that said, the two group set off to their designated location.

When they arrived inside the Shinra building, everything was a mess, fire was all over the place, but no monsters in sight, so Kadaj asked: 'Why are they are going into the underground basement, Nii-san? I thought that everything they kept on the JENOVA project was all inside the Science Department.'

_That's true..._ The blond thought as he pondered why the two scientists are going underground. _Could JENOVA be arriving from there? Or there is something else?_ He got his answers from a fragment of his future self's memories; where he is surrounded by dozen of soldiers in a strange armors with a strange insignia on them. A single word echoed in his mind. _Deepground._

He looked over his shoulder and asked the two auburn hair men: 'Do you think they are heading for Deepground?'

'It is possible.' Moon answered after a moment.

'Then we'll have to go down.' The young silver hair swordsman said as he released an electric shock wave towards the elevators, blowing them instantly and created a large hole on the far of the wall. 'Come on, let's go!'

Kadaj quickly jumped into the hole he had created, Cloud slowly followed the teen, but the lack of monsters in the building worried him. He couldn't figured out what JENOVA is planning, if she is going to arrive from the Mako Reactor 0 from below, then wouldn't she tried to prevent them from coming down by sending out all her horrible beasts? All in all, Cloud had a bad feeling about this as he jumped into the abyss with his Commander and his winged friend.

It took them only a few minutes to reached the Deepground base, because Kadaj was practically blowing everything that are blocking their with a single powerful thunder spell. When they finally touched the ground, they were greeted by a dozen of soldiers who pointed their rifles at them.

_I thought that Deepground was a medical facility before it was turned into a lab rat territory._ Cloud communicated with the two auburn hair men mentally as he slowly drew powers from his surrounding for a powerful ice spell to trap their enemies, but before he could make a move, all the soldiers fell to the floor one by one like ragged dolls. He turned around to see Moon's eyes glowing faintly orange red.

'It is both a medical facility and a lab rat territory.' Moon answered as his eyes returned to its azure blue color.'They implanted a chip into most of the brain of their "patients" to control them, I was the only one who is immune to their control and I could even destroy or disrupted the chips in the brain of others.'

'If they are control by the chip in their brains, then that means-' Kadaj began.

'Hojo would most likely be the one who is controlling them to prevent us from getting any closer to JENOVA.' Genesis finished the silver hair teen's sentence.

'We have hurry and stop JENOVA!' Cloud shouted urgently before he broke into a run towards the Mako Reator 0 and was quickly followed by his friends.

***

They didn't meet any enemies until they arrived at the gates of the Mako Reactor 0, but it surprised Cloud to see only two persons guarding the entrance, both of them were wearing the usual First Class uniform, with the insignia of Deepground instead of the SOLDIER's, one had short grey hair and the other had short black hair.

'Weiss... Nero...' The blond heard Moon whispered under his breath sadly.

Moon slowly stepped forward, his eyes glowing steadily orange red, while the two guards pulled out their swords and fell into a fighting stance. Then Moon stretched out his hand and the two men fell to their knees, groaning in immense pain.

'The pain will be over soon brothers...' The auburn hair man whispered softly as he clenched his outstretched hand into fist and both soldiers let out a loud cry.

After a moment, the black hair boy looking down at his hands and said: 'What's going on? How did-' Looking up at the four SOLDIERs. 'SOLDIERs? Why are you-'

Genesis immediately interrupted: 'There is no time for explanation. You two should get those who still might have a conscious in their mind and get as far away as you can from here, because this place is going to be destroyed soon enough.'

'But-'

'Do as they say Nero.' The grey hair boy said coldly.

'Brother?' Nero looked at his brother confused.

'If we could get away from this place, then I don't see any problem with that, it is what we wanted after all.' The grey hair soldier, presumably Weiss, said calmly as he got up.

When the black hair soldier stood up too, Moon added: 'But I want you two to make sure that you get a little girl named Shelke first before you help others.'

_Shelke?_ Cloud thought as the image of a nine-years-old girl with short auburn hair in a Deepground suit, standing among his future teammates, appeared in his mind. _So she is another friend. Guess even with the memories of my future self, they can't tell me everything, unless being trigger by a name or a word... I wonder how many things were still keep away from me._

Weiss eyed Moon suspiciously for a moment before he nodded his head, taking the hand of his brother and disappeared into a pitch black darkness that had suddenly appeared around them.

'Let's go.' Moon said and opened the large metal gates. A bright green light blinded them for a moment before it grew fainter. Cloud's eyes instantly grew wider at what stood, or rather hang, in front of him. JENOVA was floating inside by some kind of crystal cocoon with slimy-looking tentacles wrapped around it and the whole gigantic room, hanging a few feet above the mako, her single red glowing left eye stared directly at him mischievously.

_**Welcome home... My children...**_ Her disembodied voice echoed in their minds.

'JENOVA.' The blond hair swordsman spat the name venomously as he placed his hand over the red hilt of First Tsurugi. Kadaj had already pulled out his tasseled double-katana, while the two auburn hair men simply stood at their place unmoved, glaring at the being in the cocoon.

_**My, my, my. Is that how you should treat your mother, Kadaj?**_ The alien life form asked the silver hair youngster.

'You aren't my mother from the beginning, nor will you ever be my mother.' Kadaj replied angrily as his grip over the hilt of his katana tightens. 'Cloud is my only family and I won't let you destroy that!'

JENOVA scoffed lightly as she pointed Kadaj with her index finger, the tentacles around her immediately shot towards the katana-wielder of the group, but before they could even touch the boy, the slimy tentacles were cut into pieces by Cloud's sword.

'Oh, looks like Gaia had done quite some work while I was here. Giving you that power and strength, how does it feel like to have a new puppeteer master, puppet?' The female alien asked the blond hair Ex-SOLDIER.

Cloud lifted his sword up and pointed its tip at JENOVA as he answered sternly: 'Your mind trick won't work on me.'

_**Then shall I try a different approach?**_ The humanoid alien replied before she snapped her fingers. Suddenly eyes appeared all over the tentacles around the crystal cocoon and the staring orbs shot out dozens of blue energy bullets at them, which the SOLDIERs dodged and evaded them with little difficulties. _**It's already too late now. Gaia will be destroyed and I will have complete control over the whole planet, so why don't you join me now while you can. After all, everything will perish and we shall all begin a new journey towards the stars. **_

'In-' Cloud dodged one of the attacks. 'Your-' He deflected an energy bullet with his weapon. 'DREAM!' The swordsman jumped into the air and charged towards the alien life form.

When he was about to thrust his sword into the monster's chest, some of the snakelike limbs stopped their firing and crawled around JENOVA, shielding her from the fatal attack, before they wrapped themselves around the arms and legs of the Ex-SOLDIER.

_**So unwise. **_JENOVA said as the eyes around her gathered energy for a more powerful attack, but suddenly a hurricane of black feathers swirled around them, causing the eyes to stop gathering energies. _**What?!**_

The alien stratum tried to make the eyes concentrated their gaze once more on Gaia's chosen Champion, but the feathers seemed to keep her from properly controlling them. The little distraction had given the blond hair swordsman the chance to cut off the slimy limbs and freed him from the monster's grip. When Cloud landed on the floor, he conjured three ice shards and shot them towards the tentacles that had held him captive, freezing them instantly.

JENOVA let out a horrible loud screech before she cried out. _**You'll pay for that! All of you die!**_

Suddenly, the cocoon and the mako below it started to glow brightly and everything started to tremble. Cloud put a hand up to cover his enhanced eyes from the brightness and tried to keep his balance at the same time. _Is she going to self-destruct?_

'Genesis! Get Cloud and Kadaj out of here!' The blond heard Moon yelled out before he felt someone pulled his arm from behind, dragging him towards the only exit of the room.

'WAIT! MOON!' Cloud shouted as he dragged by Genesis, followed closely by Kadaj went passed the slowly closing metal gates. Not wanting to leave his friend behind, the blond struggled against the hand over his arm. 'LET GO OF ME GENESIS!'

The crimson coated Commander ignored his protests and his grip on his arm didn't falter until they reached a smaller gate, where he quickly opened it before shoving the blond and the silver hair boy inside as he said: 'Keep on running till you reached an elevator and whatever happen, don't look back no matter what.'

'NO!' Cloud shouted as he lunged at the gate, which was immediately close after he and Kadaj was being shoved inside, hammering the metal frame with his fist. 'NO! GENESIS! OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT NOW! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU BEHIND TOO! GENESIS!'

'Kadaj. Take care of Cloud.' Came the muffled reply behind the door.

'GENESIS!' The blond shouted once more before he was reluctantly dragged back by Kadaj. The ground under their feet shook violently as they stumbled forwards, fissures appeared on the walls around them and dusts fell from the ceiling.

They quickly ran to the elevator, but when they were about to open it, the ceiling above the doors cracked, forcing them to jump back a few feet from the falling pieces. Now their only way out was block by the stones.

Cloud was about to call out his power over ice to freeze the rocks before shattering them into pieces, but he stopped when the silver hair teen wrapped his arm around his waist. The blond was about to yell at his "brother", but before he could utter a single word, the teen beside him started to change; he became taller, his silver hair grew longer, his black leather clothing turned into a different style, his double-bladed katana turned into a seven-foot long katana and a black wing similar to Genesis' burst out at the right side of his back.

_What the- _Cloud couldn't even finish his thought as Kadaj, who is now Sephiroth, pulled him closer and flew towards the blocked passage way, blasting the obstacles _and _the elevator with a powerful fire spell and then they started to fly upward towards the surface through the hollow space of the elevator shaft and they only stopped when they broke out from the ground floor's elevator doors.

Landing on the broken floor, Kadaj let go of Cloud who immediately stumbled away from the silver hair swordsman and pointed at him accusingly, but the words the blond wanted to say couldn't leave his lips.

'Nii-san, you don't have to be afraid. It's still me, Kadaj.' The Sephiroth look-alike said softly, his voice was mixed of Kadaj's and Sephiroth's voice.

'Ho-how did you?' Cloud was completely at a loss for words. How could Kadaj turned into Sephiroth?! He shouldn't be able to transform like that! JENOVA shouldn't have any more powers over him!

'I don't know really why I'm able to either, but it looks like even though I had erased _Him_ from my soul, his powers are somehow still inside my body. I guess you could call it a little power boost for emergency.' The silver hair swordsman joked, trying to lessen the tension between them. The blond calm down slightly at his words, because he knew at heart that even though Kadaj had taken another person's appearance, it's still his little impish "brother", besides the _Nightmare_ created by JENOVA doesn't joke.

'Can you tell me what's going on? What is JENOVA doing back there?' Cloud asked in breath.

'She-RUN!' Before Cloud knew what's happening, Kadaj wrapped his arm around his waist once more and they dived straight through the large glass window next to them, throwing themselves into the open air.

A loud explosion sounded in his ears and a bright white blinding light covered his vision completely.

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**The next part will be update very soon. I hope you have enjoy this chapter everyone!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. I hope you will all enjoy the second part of the chapter "The World's End"!**

* * *

The World's End Part 2

'Nii-san! Wake up! Nii-san!' A worried voice called out.

Cloud, hearing his name, struggled to respond as his sore body and disoriented senses were slowly recovering from the impact of the explosion and the crash landing that they made.

Letting out a weak groan, he forced his heavy eyelids to open. Everything is still a little bit fuzzy for him, but he could still make out the shape of a tall long silver hair man, looking at him with a deep concern in his cat-like emerald eyes. The blond slowly sat up, part of his bones making some cracking noise, and told Kadaj, who looked ready to jump on him in any second: 'I'm fine Kadaj. You don't have to act like a puppy, you know.'

Of course, his words went from one ear and out from the other like always, but the silver hair swordsman didn't pound on him and gave him a chocking bear hug like he usually did, more like jumped on him _lightly_ and hugged him _gently_. It feels kind of weird of having a Sephiroth look-alike doing that to him. It's creepy, in a certain way.

'Thank Gaia! You are alright!' Kadaj shouted happily before he pulled back.

The blond shook his head in annoyance before he looked up and let out a gasp of surprise at what he saw. JENOVA was now a giant avatar with the same metal mechanic armor that was torn apart at the Nibelheim Reactor with three steel tentacles-like feet rooted deep into the ground like the ones of a tree, two large scaled wings stretched out from its back. The Shinra building was reduced to rubbles where they there and here around them and some were floating around the titanic creature. A thin veil of light surround the head of JENOVA.

'What in _Hell's_ name is that?' Cloud whispered his question to his friend as his eyes were fixed upon the gargantuan being above him.

'JENOVA's new and final form, which she had taken from Gaia's greatest and most powerful Weapon of all, Omega.' The last name triggered a memory, in Cloud's mind, of a steel-armored dragon with four large wings sucking the Planet's life blood from the eight Reactors of Midgar. 'She planned to taint the Lifestreams with her poison and take control over Gaia, then she will, like what Omega was destined to, fly towards the sea of stars, floating in the deep space, in search for another planet to consume and reborn.'

The blond hair swordsman was only half listening to what Kadaj had said as his mind was overloaded with images of a planet's Lifestreams shot out and flew away like a meteorite, leaving behind a round sandy dry orb, which fissured not long after the green light's departure. Screams of men, women and children reached his ears, howls and screeches of creatures echoed in the empty space, the plants and insects sang their last note before everything became as silent as a tombstone.

_Everything will just die like that?_ Cloud thought as his hands clenched into fists. _I won't allow that to happen. There is so much to do, so much to see._ He remembered the snowy mountains where he grows up, the blue sky that greets every morning when he wakes up, the people he loved and cared sitting next to him. All those precious moment they had spent together will turn into nothingness if JENOVA's plan succeeded. _I can't let her do that. Moon... Genesis still hasn't completely seen the magic of the snow... I can't just stand here and let her take that away._

'I'm going to stop her.' The blond said as he stood up, using his large sword for support. 'I can't. I won't let it end this way or the other.' _Everyone will be saved._ He saw the man with the gun-arm hammering part of the collapsed platform of Sector 7._ No one will die in vain. _Zack, who still wore a happy smile, lying lifelessly in a puddle of his own blood mixed with mud._ And no one needs to be sacrifice. _A beautiful girl with long brown braided hair, wearing peaceful expression and her hands clasped together like a maiden praying to her angels, slowly sinking deep into a crystal clean lake.

Then he rose to his full height and marched forward like a warrior readied to face his enemies. After a few steps, he looked back to see the silver hair swordsman who didn't move from his spot, looking at the ground, uncertainty of what to do written all over his face, before he looked into his eyes.

'Nii-san. I was never a human to begin with, am I?' The blond felt his blood turned cold at what Kadaj had just said. Wondering if his "brother" is under JENOVA's influence again as he slowly approached him. 'I have always thought that this world could rot, before and after I died. There was never a reason for me to give it a chance to survive, I just hate it. But, for you Nii-san, I will defend it. You are the only reason for me to protect it. The only reason of why I still want to exist.'

Cloud placed his hand against the back of the taller man's neck and gently pulled him down until their foreheads were pressed against each other before he spoke softly: 'I know. I know I was always the center of your thoughts, but I really want you to see that there is still some good in this world, even if it has many, many unpleasant things in it.'

'That's why I have to fight to defend it. You, me, Genesis, Sephiroth, Angeal, Zack, everyone, all of us still haven't seen everything in this world, there are still things out there waiting for us to discover.' The Ex-SOLDIER slowly pulled back a little bit as he continued. 'I want to give you, that chance to see them. To see that there isn't just my existence worth fighting for.'

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Kadaj gently pushed the blond away as he said: 'Go Nii-san. I'll take care of them.'

_Them?_ Cloud thought, confused. As if on cue, dozens of one winged man in black and silver armors appeared out of thin air behind them and the black scaled beasts jumped out of the rubbles, baring their fangs at them from the front.

'Go Nii-san. I think I'll play with my _brothers_ a little bit.' The silver hair man said cruelly as he faced the humanoid monsters and Cloud, the beasts.

'Be careful.' The blond said, with a hint of warning in his tone that said if-you-don't-I'll-kill before both of them charged towards their enemies and cut them down swiftly. When he saw an opening among the monsters, taking as his chance, he quickly ran towards it and killed whatever beast that is stupid enough to block his way, but they kept following him, like a bunch of dogs chasing a stray cat.

While trying to out run the monsters, Cloud looked around his surrounding, searching for a more open field that could give him some advantages with his skilled ice spells.

'CLOUD! DUCK!' A commanding voice yelled out. The Ex-SOLDIER immediately crouched down as fireballs and lightning bolts flew over his head, killing the creatures behind him instantly. Cloud looked back just in time to see them turning into dusts, his lips twitched upward. _Nice shot._ He turned his gaze back to the direction he was running at, on top of a half collapsed building stood Angeal and Zack.

'ZACK! ANGEAL!' He yelled out, relief to his friends _well_ and _alive_, and waved his arm at them. Both SOLDIERs put back their swords on their magnetic strip before they jumped off the building and landed a few feet from him. Zack, being Zack the puppy, quickly dove onto the blond, laughing cheerfully. Luckily for Cloud, he now had exactly the same strength as a First Class, so he doesn't fall onto his back like he used to, instead he took the charging impact of the raven hair SOLDIER head-on. The only thing that is inevitable was the crushing hug. 'ZACK! IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU IN SHAPE TOO!'

'You aren't half bad either.' The Second Class replied as he pulled back and examined the blond hair swordsman from head to toe. 'Nice cool outfit. Look great on you.'

Cloud shrugged his shoulders before he turned and greeted the First Class.

'Cloud, what is that thing?' Angeal asked as he eyed JENOVA warily.

'That's JENOVA. She is planning to take control of the planet by tainting the Lifestreams with her cells and destroy Gaia from within.' The blond explained as he gazed the monstrous entity. 'I got to stop her.'

'Uh... How are you planning to do that exactly?' Zack asked rather dumbly. Cloud knew he was probably trying to lighten the situation by acting dumb, but it doesn't really help much, because this is an either succeeded or died situation.

Still, the blond smiled as he lifted his sword up for the two SOLDIERs to see and replied: 'With the old fashion way of a SOLDIER of course.'

Zack was about to laugh, but a growling sound behind them caught their attention. Looking at the direction where the growl came from, a dozen of those scaled beasts were ready to jump on them, along with three centaur-like creatures similar to the one that Cloud had fought at Shinra Mansion.

'Cloud. You go first, we'll come after.' The spiky hair Second Class said before he charged towards the pack of monsters.

The Ex-SOLDIER was about to ignore Zack's words and help him, but Angeal stopped him and shook his head as he said: 'Go, Cloud. Your fight is not with them.'

Cloud really wanted to protest, but he knew that Angeal was right. These monsters that JENOVA had sent were only trying to weaken him before he faces her, so it's better if he save his strength. So he nodded his head before he ran off and jumped onto one of the collapsed building, then onto one of the floating rocks levitating around the giant avatar.

He continued jumping around the floating rocks for few minutes as he reached higher and higher, but he stopped abruptly when he heard a strangling screeching sound behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a silver winged creature with three odd shape steel-armored bird monsters flying towards him, energy gathering around their wings.

The Ex-SOLDIER cursed in his mind as he jumped away just in time to evade the winged beasts' attacks, but he had underestimated their speed. As soon as he was in mid-air, they came charging at him with breakneck speed, he only had enough time to bring his sword up to block some of the strikes. The three smaller ones had only done some scratches on him, but the bigger one that looked more humanoid was stronger. It did not only cut him in several places and had thrown him into the closest drifting rock. If it wasn't because of the mako inside his body, he really doubts that he'll be able to endure that many damages and still have the strength to get back up.

After taking a few small breathes, Cloud slowly got back up into a kneeling position, hissing whenever he felt a sharp sting on his body, and mentally kicking himself for not reacting fast enough to counterattack. He quickly got up as the three smaller ones came back charging at him again, this time he is ready for them. He waited until one of them got closer and then he jumped onto it, using it as a stepping stone to jump higher. When he was hovering above the three monsters, he concentrated all his power into his sword and slashed vertically, releasing a long arc that cut right through the middle of the three birds, like a knife cutting through butter.

When he landed on the floating stone again, he suddenly something struck him from behind. He inhaled sharply as he felt a sharp pain on his back, stumbling a few steps forward before he regained his footing. He quickly whirled around and swung his sword to strike back, but his weapon hit only the air._ Damn it. How can it be so fast?_ Cloud thought angrily.

'_So this is all you got, traitor?_' A smooth voice asked mockingly above him. When Cloud looked up, he saw nothing, but a silver wisp. '_Can you see me? Can you catch me when I'm part of the wind?_'

Blue eyes darted from one side to other, trying to catch a glimpse of the invisible opponent. Cloud knew even though the wounds he had received were slowly healing by themselves, his body will sooner or later tired out if he continued to just block or get hit relentlessly.

_Think, Cloud, think! What could you do right now and what's your strength? _The first thing that Cloud thought of was his ability to control over the element of ice and immobilize his opponent with it. _Now what could give you an advantage in this battle?_

Since his surrounding is only air and plain rocks, it is very difficult to come up with a strategy that could help him in this situation. Cloud closed his eyes and tried to concentrate harder to figure out a solution and _fast_. Suddenly he could hear a faint sound in the air, a familiar howling sound. _The Lifestreams!_

The howl seemed louder at his right side. He listened more closely and could make out the faint chuckling of the monster. _There you are!_ The Ex-SOLDIER cried out in his mind as he sent out a wave of ice towards the voice, it instantly swallowed up and froze the winged man. Then he swung his pieced sword horizontally towards the creature, one of the piece detached itself from the whole and was thrown towards the frozen being like a boomerang, cutting it into two before it made its way back into the blond hair swordsman's free hand.

'That was easy.' Cloud voiced his thought out loud as he stared at the falling shards of the frozen body.

'_My thoughts exactly._' A voice said behind him. The blond whirled around to see the same winged man he just killed floating in front of him, but instead of being all silver, his armors are in complete black. The monster looked at him with the face of Sephiroth in a maddening expression, the long silver hair looked like hands that are trying to reach for him and strangle him to death. '_Maybe we should bring this to a higher level, shall we?_'

The winged being clapped his hands and six forms that looks like him appeared out of thin air, surrounding the Ex-SOLDIER and leaving no place for escape. The monster pointed his index at the lone warrior and whispered two simple words: 'Kill him.'

The six copies screeched in delight as they charged towards the blond, but before they could lay a scratch on him, a large luminous circle filled with strange symbols in different sizes appeared under the feet of the blond hair swordsman, causing the monsters to stop in mid-flight and covered their eyes with their arms from the light.

_**Apocalypse!**_ Two voices echoed in the air and instantly, deadly lightning bolts shot down from the dark sky and burned all those who are around the Ex-SOLDIER into ash. The six silver copies didn't have time to defend themselves against the surprised attack. Only the black one had evaded and cast a barrier around itself that had survived.

When the attacks were over, Cloud looked around and spotted two familiar red figures hovering in the air. A relieved smile graced his lips as he shouted: 'Moon! Genesis!'

'_How dare you interfere with Mother's plan?_' The winged beasts hissed at the two newcomers. It was then that Cloud noticed something different about the two auburn hair men.

Moon's hair style was no longer shoulder-length, but it was the same as the first time he appeared before him in his human form, only the tips are no longer tainted in black, his eyes were glowing red orange again, his coat was now sleeveless, showing the black sleeves of his shirt and he had ruby red gauntlets and greaves on his arms and legs. Genesis' blue eyes were glowing as bright as Moon's, his clothes remained the same, but the color of his hair seemed paler than usual.

_**Cloud, go to JENOVA and leave him to me. Genesis will protect you along the way.**_ The blond heard Moon's words echoed in his mind before the auburn hair man tackled down the winged monster. He doesn't need to be told twice as he dashed towards the next the floating stones with his Commander flying closely next to him, knowing that the two auburn hair men were safe and with him gave him more strength to fight the alien monster.

Cloud killed as many of those small silver birds that are in his reach as he can, while Genesis summoned fireballs to destroy those that are a little far from or getting closer to them. When they almost reached the top, swarms of winged humanoid copies lunged towards them as if they had been starving for ages. The black winged man placed himself in between the group of monster and Cloud and lifted a shining red orb in his hand. The blue sapphire armored dragon that Cloud had fought in the Virtual Room flew out of a large summoning circle created from the summon materia.

'Bahamut could beat all of them easily, but I'll stay behind to make sure that none of them will get through the barrier. Now go!' Genesis shouted to Cloud who quickly made his way through the claws, screeches and roars of the battle between the winged-beasts and the dragon to the thin veil of light.

When he passed through the veil, the warrior could hear the disembodied voice of JENOVA echoed in their mind. _**So you finally come back to me, my child.**_

Cloud looked up at the gigantic steel mask of the avatar and spotted JENOVA, her body had no longer any of scotched scars that are made during her crash on Gaia two thousands years ago, the eye she had lost was regenerated and the helmet she wore is gone, floating in the air and smiling down at him.

'Everything ends right here and right now JENOVA!' Cloud shouted as he replaced the second sword in his hand into First Tsurugi, making the large sword whole once again.

'Oh, I wouldn't say that if I were you, for I have everything that you treasure the most in my possession.' The alien life form snapped her fingers and three mirrors-like liquid spheres appeared in front of the blond. 'So I'll think twice before I act if I were you.'

The first sphere showed Kadaj, who is no longer in Sephiroth form, killing any monster that dared get too close to him, but he had large gash on his stomach and he used his hand to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. _He won't last long if he continues to fight like that!_ Cloud thought as he turned his gaze towards the sphere middle.

The second one showed Zack and Angeal, back against back, surrounded by a dozen of the centaur-like creatures. Zack was sweating and his clothes were all bloody, but none of it is his own, and Angeal seemed alright for the moment. _Still, those things could really do some heavy damages if they land a hit._

The last mirror showed him Moon being attack relentless by Sephiroth's copy, but the crimson coated man blocked and dodge each blow with ease. Then Cloud noticed something very strange about the tactics of the auburn hair man. _Why isn't he fighting back? He had almost been able to defeat Kadaj when he is in Sephiroth form. Why?_ This worried Cloud.

_**Now do you understand the situation? If you even dare to touch with your weapon, all my armies of monster will tear those little bugs into pieces. And everyone else is already at Kalm, you have no reinforcement or the strength left to fight all my creations. Now stay still and give your power.**_ JENOVA whispered into the Ex-SOLDIER's mind. When the swordsman didn't give any response, she summoned some purple tendrils to attach themselves onto the young blond.

Cloud had never felt so helpless in his life. If he struggled right now, his friend will be in danger, and if not, he will probably become a puppet under JENOVA's control. _What could I do right now? Moon..._

"_**Let me help you.**_" A gentle voice said. Then JENOVA suddenly started to screech loudly like she is in deep pain and the tendrils around Cloud started to loosen their hold.

_**ANCIENT!!! **_The monster howled angrily as she twisted and turned in the air as a ring on her waists, ankles and neck.

Cloud looked down at the avatar's body, where the Lifestreams' threads bind around the exact same spot as it appeared on JENOVA's body, then he looked at the three mirrors: the first one reflected Sephiroth holding Kadaj in his arms in bridal style and all the beasts were killed, the second showed Zack and Angeal inside a helicopter with the Turks and the brown hair girl he had seen in his future self's memories knelt inside the cockpit with her hands clasped together in prayer, and the last mirror reflected Moon flying towards the shining veil.

_Alright! Everyone is fine!_ Cloud thought as he let out a mental sigh of relief and then he turned his attention back to the bonded monster.

'It's over JENOVA.' The swordsman said as he walked towards the withering alien. When he is right next to it, he pressed his blade below the female alien's throat, looking at her sadly, because her appearances were similar to Sephiroth at a certain level. He felt sorry for her, because Sephiroth was able to accept his differences and continued to live with others, while she only thought of others as trashes and that they deserved death. _If you understand human emotion, maybe we could accept you, but all you know is how to destroy and create chaos. I'll make it quick for you..._

When he was about to cut her throat, the winged man who Moon was fighting caught his blade with his metallic clawed hand, stopping him from ending the monster's life, and his other aimed for his head. Cloud immediately let go of his sword and jumped back. Feeling a stingy feeling on his left cheek, he touched his face and pulled his gloved hand back to see it smeared with blood, he looked back at the winged figure that had threw his sword away, out of his reach.

_**You really underestimate me too much Gaia.**_ JENOVA said as she got up, all the rings on her had disappeared._** Everything is indeed over, but that's for you and Gaia!**_ The Calamity of the Sky slowly back away and melted into the mask of the avatar, whose eyes glowed red eerily and its mouth began to open as energy began to gather around it.

_RUN!_ Was the first thing that came into Cloud's mind, but before he could move a muscle, the Sephiroth clone suddenly appeared behind him and twisted his hands at his back with one hand and clasped his throat tightly with his other hand.

'Let go... You are going to die too... If you don't let go...' Cloud said as he struggled to break free from the vice-grips.

'Who cares? Mother could remake my body as much as she wants! Now you could just die!' The monster shouted as an energy ball was already formed inside the mouth of the avatar.

Seeing that he no longer had much time left, Cloud mustered all of his strength and threw his head back, connecting the man's face in a blow that left him reeling with impact, then he grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. At that moment, JENOVA released her powerful fire beam.

_Not enough time! _The blond shut his eyes and quickly brought his arms up to protect himself from the devastating blow, but instead of a burning painful hit, he felt nothing. He opened his eyes and let out a horrify gasp, floating in the air, in front of the metal mask, was Genesis who had shielded him from the deadly attack, now half burned by the strike and his black wing showed out some of its skeletons.

'GENESIS!' Cloud yelled out as the auburn hair man fell. He quickly jumped off the stone and tried to reach for the falling man. 'GENESIS! WAKE UP!'

He extended his arm as far as he could to catch the man, after several tries, he caught hold of the Commander's coat and pulled him closer. Tears flowed out of his blue eyes as he repeated the man's name. When Genesis' eyes finally opened and stared deep into his, Cloud could feel the pain of Genesis and the death that lingered inside him. _He is dying..._

'Let go... Cloud...' Genesis said weakly as he tried to push the blond away.

'NO! I'M NOT LETTING YOU GO!' Cloud cried out as he clung onto the coat desperately, not wanting the Commander who had saved his life twice to just fall to his death. 'I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE! YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ALL THE MAGICS OF THE SNOW YET!'

Genesis only struggle harder, but Cloud's persistence kept him from loosing his hold. Then the auburn hair man used the remaining strength he had left and punched the blond hard on the stomach.

Cloud, winded by the unexpected punch, lost his grip on the coat. Suddenly Moon shot out of no where and caught him by the waist and pulled him back, leaving the crimson coated Commander to continue his fall.

'GENESIS! LET GO OF ME MOON!' The Ex-SOLDIER shouted as he tried in vain to break free from the man's grip, but when he hit the man's shoulder, he found his hand passing through the winged man as if he was a ghost.

'Moon...?' Cloud spoke the name weakly. _No... Not you too..._

'It's going to be alright. I'm just going back to where I should have belonged to, a long time ago.' Moon replied hoarsely as part of his body started to dissipate.

The blond wrapped his arms around the slowly disappearing man's neck, crystal tears ran down his cheek as he begged the man: 'Pleased don't leave me too! I can't go on without you! Without Genesis! I can't fight...'

_**You can defeat her... You are the only one who can defeat her...**_ Moon whispered in the swordsman's mind, half of his body had already disappeared. The ruby gauntlets and greaves glowed brightly and a red halo light enveloped both of them. _**I'm giving you everything that I have left... You will beat her...**_

When Moon was completely dissipated in the red halo, a large floating red cape wrapped itself around Cloud's neck, silver metal claws on his two hands and a large black wing materialized on the left side of his back, allowing him to continue to fly.

_**Cloud...**_

'FIRST TSURUGI!' Cloud shouted as he extended his right arm. The fusion sword, which was stuck into the stone wall of one of the collapsed building moments ago, answering his master's call, immediately materialized in his hand.

_**No matter where you are...**_

The blue sapphire eyes shone brightly as his ice power had completely made the whole Midgar's temperature dropped to less than -20 degree, freezing all the moisture there is in the area, including his own tears. Dozen of ice spears were created out of the humid air and shot towards all the winged monsters flying towards him, turning all of them into ice.

_**No matter when you are...**_

The black Sephiroth clone and two of the silver copies shot towards him, trying to block his path, but they were cleanly cut into two in lightning speed. Cloud didn't even felt the blood spattered over his cheek or the cold in the air as he flew upward, all there is inside of him right now was only anger.

_**Whenever or wherever you call...**_

'JENOVA!!!' Cloud cried out when he saw the head of the avatar and threw his sword towards the black clouded sky. The pieced sword instantly disassembled; the main sword floated above the head while the five other pieces surround it in five different directions, forming a round circle. A red and gold glow covered Cloud as he grabbed one of the swords in the circle and dashed forward, slashing through the steel-material with ease and repeated it four more times with the other pieces.

_**I promise...**_

Then the swordsman flew above the avatar, took the main blade in his hand and descended for the final strike. Splitting the metal mask into two, ice immediately slipped into the mask and froze the alien entity inside.

_**Damn you Gaia!**_ JENOVA screeched as the whole body of the avatar started to crumble into pieces.

_**I'll always be there for you...**_

Cloud flew as far away from the crumbling pieces as he can and watched the Calamity of the Sky fall to her doom like Genesis did, smokes and dusts arose from the ground. When everything stated to clear, the blond landed on the ground and surveyed the wreckage around him, trying to find the trace of the auburn hair man.

'MOON! GENESIS!' Cloud shouted the names, hoping that the two men will appear. He unconsciously clenched his shirt and felt something strange about his necklace. He quickly pulled it and found the crystal orb had a large crack in the middle and its color was dull. _No, he can't be dead. He just can't..._

He paced around the wreckage and kept shouting the two names again and again. Then something silver and black on the ground caught his eyes, he knelt down and took it up, it was Genesis' cell phone and the silver earring of Moon was hanging to it by a small silver chain. _No... It's not true..._ Cloud shook in his head as it started to rain. _They aren't dead... They aren't..._

Suddenly the blond heard someone snickered behind him, he turned and saw no one. He slowly advanced to where the sound came from behind some of the stones, clutching the sword and cell phone in his hands tightly. When he was close enough, he saw JENOVA, lying on the ground covered in ice, smiling sickly at him.

'What are you laughing at?' The Ex-SOLDIER asked angrily.

_**At how ironic your life was. No matter what you change, you always loose the two most important persons who had entered your life. In you old life, you lost that pathetic black cockroach who saved you at Midgar's outskirt and that damned Ancient who gave up her life to interfere my plan by summoning Holy. Poor puppet, poor lonesome poor puppet.**_ After saying that, JENOVA burst out laughing.

'Shut up...Give them back... GIVE THEM BACK!' Cloud shouted as he stabbed the alien being's chest, exactly where a heart should have been, but there is none. He kept on stabbing, even though the Calamity of the Sky is no more, until his strength finally left him. His red cape, metal claws and black wing had dissipated into air.

He fell to his knees, his blood tainted sword laid forgotten next to him, cradling the only item that the man who had changed his life had left behind and chocking back sobs.

He didn't know how long he had cried until someone wrapped his arms around him, giving him some of his warmth for his cold soaking body. He thought it was Moon at first, but the arms are too thin to be the man in question.

'Nii-san.' A soft voice said gently. Knowing it was Kadaj, Cloud unconsciously pressed himself closer to silver hair teen and showed his weak state to his "brother" for once. 'It's ok, Nii-san. It's ok to cry.'

Finally, Cloud couldn't stop the anger and sadness he had bottled up after killing JENOVA. He lifted his head and screamed in agony, just like a wolf that howled at the moon sorrowfully.

* * *

**I really took a lot of nights to complete this chapter! I hope I didn't make too many mistakes or screw it up big time! Please review and tell me what do you guys think about it!**

**Also I like to thank everyone who had read this story! *BOW***


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. Enjoy the new short songfic chapter!**

* * *

The Last Words

_**Moon... Everyone is fine. The future had changed, at least partially.**_

_**Angeal had gone back to Banora Village and was helping the farmers working for your family. His mother was quite happy that he had come back to her and things seemed to going quite well for them. Weiss and Nero had gone there too, they told me that they want to know more about you.**_

_**Since the President and most of the staff of Shinra, including Hojo and Hollander, had died when JENOVA had taken over. Director Lazard, Rufus Shinra and Reeve Tuesti, the architect of Shinra, had took over the company and made peace with AVALANCHE and Wutai. They are slowly rebuilding Midgar with the help of AVALANCHE, naming the new rebuilt city as Edge, Shelke had been a great help in the reconstruction part with her skill on the computer, along with her sister Shalua. Zack and Kunsel had stayed behind to help too, or rather both of them were trying to catch the attention of Aerith and Tifa, who had been working at the bar Seventh Heaven after the incident. I guess she wants to stay close to me, since my shop was not far from Edge.**_

_**Sephiroth and Vincent had returned to Nibelheim with my mother. A few days ago, I had received a letter from my mother. She told me that she, Sephiroth and Vincent had rearranged the Shinra Mansion, so that it could welcome the orphans who are around the world. Of course, I'm pretty sure that Sephiroth and Vincent have made sure that the secret passage and its dark secrets will be lock away forever. And I'm sure that, with my mother's help, they will take good care of the children.**_

_**The rest of the teammates in my future self's memories are doing fine, Nanaki had returned to Cosmo Canyon, Cid had the support of Shinra for the Space Exploration Program and Yuffie, well just being Yuffie, traveling around and sometimes giving trouble to everyone.**_

_**It had already been five years, since you had joined the Lifestreams...**_

_**Kadaj had stayed with me all these years, looking after me and all. I felt like I'm the younger brother than the old one. He helped me out a lot for my delivery shop, Strife Delivery Service.**_

_**I'm quite fine...**_

_**I had a vision or a piece of memory of Zack, from the future of yours, last night. He read a letter from Aerith to me, it said that it is the 89**__**th**__** letter she had written, but she won't write anymore, she had been waiting for him for four years and that the flowers made people happy all thanks to him.**_

_**This is my 5**__**th**__** letter to you and also my last, but that doesn't mean that I want to forget you. I just... Couldn't continue to write anymore...**_

_**Every year, when I took up the pencil and wrote something down, I felt that my heart became heavier and heavier, it makes me feel like I'm slowly dying or maybe, the part of you in me is slowly dying and I can't do anything about it... It hurts...**_

_**Yet what really hurts me the most was that you never came when I called out your name. I was always alone when I needed you, but still, I continue to love you and remember every detail of you.**_

_**I know I'll never be able to forget you. I have loved you for five years, and I'll love you for another five years and another. I know that I would love you forever.**_

_**Also, I want you to know is that no matter where you or when you are...**_

_**You'll always have a place here in my heart...**_

_**And I'll be waiting for you...**_

_**August 10**__**th**__**, 0007**_

_**Sign, Cloud.**_

_**P.S I really want to see the snow with you again...**_

Gaia's Champion put down his pencil and looked over the letter one last time. He is now at Mideel, the town on the most southern island of the world map, where he had found a quiet inn and finished his last letter to Moon. Tomorrow morning, he will head North-West, towards Banora Village to deliver a package to Angeal.

_Ooh..._

_Everybody's got something they had to leave behind  
One regret from yesterday that just seems to grow with time  
There's no use looking back or wondering ( or wondering )  
How it could be now or might have been  
Oh this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go_

The dull blue eyes slowly turned towards the window, looking at the red orange setting sun over the wide seashore, the color reminding him a lot of the eyes that haunted him in his dreams for five years.

The blond hair Ex-SOLDIER hadn't aged during those five years, he still remained the same as the day he had defeated the Calamity of the Sky, but with half of his soul and heart torn apart by the death of Gaia's Secret Knight.

_I've never had a dream come true  
Till the day that I found you  
Even though I pretend that I've moved on  
You'll always be my baby  
I never found the words to say  
You're the one I think about each day  
And I know no matter where life takes me to  
A part of me will always be with you_

_Maybe, I should have die that day, then Genesis' dream will be realize..._ Cloud thought as he picked up the letter and an empty bottle on the nightstand before he made his way out of the inn and walked down a small road through the thick wood that leads to the beach. _He would have become the hero he had always wanted to be... I don't deserve that title..._

_Why...? _He really wanted to ask Gaia. _Why must he be the one who gives everything he have and receive nothing in return?_

_Somewhere in my memory  
I've lost all sense of time  
and tomorrow can never be cos yesterday is all that fills my mind  
There's no use looking back or wondering ( or wondering )  
How it should be now or might have been  
Oh this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go_

The sun had already disappeared and the dark curtain had already fallen when he reached the beach. He inhaled the scent of the salty water that the cold wind had brought to him and watched the dark blue sea's swirling waves as he waited just like every year.

At first there is nothing, but the howling sound of the wind and those of large crashing waves, then a howl different from the wind rang in the air and the waves suddenly quieted. At the far side of the seashore, threads of the Lifestreams and small fireflies-looking orbs swirled around with a green luminous mist covering them.

Mideel is the island that was the closest the Lifestreams' surface point, second to the Northern Crater at the top north of the world map, where JENOVA had crashed into Gaia two thousands years ago. Every year, whenever he was delivering package to one of these two locations, he would always stopped at the surface point to write a letter to Moon and throw it into the Planet's blood streams.

_I've never had a dream come true  
Till the day that I found you  
Even though I pretend that I've moved on  
You'll always be my baby  
I never found the words to say  
You're the one I think about each day  
And I know no matter where life takes me to  
A part of me will always be_

Cloud stared at the green light for a moment before he rolled up his letter and carefully place it into the bottle. After he was sure that it was tightly sealed, he threw it as far as he can and let it drifted towards the Lifestreams.

'Spirits of the Lifestreams... May this letter reach Moon safely... Please let my words reach him... My last words...' Cloud prayed silently to the wind as he watched the bottle slowly made its way to the green light.

He waited until the bottle was completely engulfed by the mist before he turned around and walked away.

_**Cloud...**_

_You'll always be the dream that fills my head  
Yes you will, say you will, you know you will  
Oh baby, you'll always be the one I know I'll never forget  
There's no use looking back or wondering  
Because love is a strange and funny thing  
No matter how I try and try I just can't say goodbye  
No no no no  
_

The blond hair swordsman stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of the melodious voice. He really wanted to turn around and see if it is Moon, but he knew that it'll never him, no matter how much he wished and dreamt about it. It will always be a memory that the Lifestreams replayed to him, like a broken recorder that continued to repeat and repeat the same thing.

And hearing that voice again had somehow made him felt sad and somehow angry...

Cloud took out from his shirt the necklace with the broken orb, which had lost its light ever since Moon had died. He stared at it for moment, slightly hoping that it will glow and tell him that the black winged man is near. _It's just wishful thinking..._ The blond thought as he put the red orb back into his shirt.

_I've never had a dream come true  
Till the day that I found you  
Even though I pretend that I've moved on  
You'll always be my baby  
I never found the words to say (words to say)  
You're the one I think about each day  
And I know no matter where life takes me to  
A part of me will always be_

He looked up at the starry sky and let out a heavy sigh. Seeing the bright little light reminded him of the little walk he had spent with the auburn hair man, one of his most precious and happiest moment of all.

'Good night... Moon...' Cloud whispered softly as he made his way back to the town. If he had turned around, he would have seen a lone shadowy figure looking at him among the Lifestreams.

_A part of me will always be with you..._

* * *

**The song I used is called "Never had a Dream Come True" by S Club 7. I hadn't been able to get an idea out of my mind and couldn't complete the remaining chapters these days, but when I had accidently found this song, it had given me a power boost and now my chapters are almost finish!**

**Please forgive me if it took me some time to complete the last chapters, but I'm sure that it will be worth the wait.**

**Thank you everyone who review and read my story!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. And I never said that it was the end back at chapter 21! I said the last chapter"s"! So enjoy!**

* * *

Bitter Sweet

Cloud had been receiving fragment of memories from both his future self and the future Zack for the last three years, some of them weren't very pleasant thoughts, but most of them revealed to him how happy they were even after so many tragic incidents. In fact the memory that pleased him the most was the blueprints of the motorcycle "Fenrir". Thanks to that memory, he delivered the packages much easier and faster than with the "Hardy-Daytona", because the custom-made black motorcycle had expandable compartments on either sides of the front tires to fit all the pieces of First Tsurugi, separately or combined, and it could go 400 km/h, he could easily made to Banora from Mideel in a few hours, while with the "Hardy-Daytona" he needed half a day to make it.

As he drove through the Banora trees, Cloud gazed at the fruitless trees for a moment, thinking about what Moon had told him about the delicacy of these strange apple trees, before he started to slow down and came to a halt before the entrance of the village, next to a large mansion-like house.

'Cloud.' The blond heard someone called to him as he removed his black goggles and turned off the engine. He looked up to see the former Commander walking towards him in a farmer outfits. 'How have you been?'

'Great. It's good to see you too Angeal.' Cloud said rather nervously as he dismounted Fenrir, he hadn't seen Angeal for a while and seeing the man in a more civil dress than a SOLDIER uniform seemed a little out of character for a Ex-Commander.

'Here, this is your package.' The blond took out a small cardboard box from a compartment behind the seat of his bike and handed it to black hair man.

'Thank you.' Angeal replied as he took the small package. 'Why don't stay at my house for today? My mother will be please to finally meet you face-to-face. She had heard many things about you from Zack whenever he called by. She told me that she really wants to have good look at the new Hero.'

Sometimes Cloud didn't know what had kept him from killing the black porcupine hair man all these years, because he really can't see a single reason why he should let a big-mouthed person like Zack to live longer than 18 years. Besides, half of what the 2nd Class SOLDIER said was probably not true at all.

As for the hero part, it's completely false. He isn't a hero, Moon and Genesis were. Moon mentored him and helped him get back on his feet; Genesis protected him from JENOVA and saved his life... While he had done nothing that could be consider as a true hero. He was always protected by someone else... Now he is just... Cloud Strife, a simple delivery boy, that's all...

'Ok, I hope I won't cause you or Mrs. Hewley any trouble.' Cloud replied after a moment, since it would be impolite to decline the offer of Genesis' friend. _And better tell her that everything that Zack told her wasn't true..._

'Don't worry. My mother will be very please by your visit.' Angeal replied as he leaded them into the small peaceful village. They walked passed a Banora tree that is bigger than the ones he saw on the road. It was then that the blond recognized it as the one where Moon had buried his fake parents. The large bending tree looked very different from the one he saw in Lifestreams and it had already the Dumbapples on its branches. _It looks more alive..._

As they headed towards the third house at the right, Cloud could hear distant murmurs of the villagers about him being the hero, wasting his talents and time to just do some stupid deliveries. _Because I am and always will be a delivery boy and I'm no hero at all. Besides I like my life as it is. _Now he really understood what Sephiroth had felt whenever he goes to a public place.

'Ah, you are back, Angeal.' A woman in her late forties with dark brown hair, who wore a white sleeve-shirt and a green skirt, said as the two men entered. 'And I see you brought a guest with you.'

'Mother, this Cloud Strife. And Cloud, this is my mother.' Angeal presented as the blond took a step forward and extended his hand to the madam.

'A pleasure to meet you, ma'am.' The blond said as Angeal's mother shook his hand. Seeing this fragile woman somehow made him wondered why can't she tried to continue to live on for the sake of Angeal and chose to take her own life to atone her sins for given a cursed gift to her child and Genesis?

'Please call me, Gillian.' The dark brown hair woman replied before she turned to Angeal. 'Angeal, some workers came and wanted me to tell you that if you got back home with your package, please go immediately to the mansion.'

'Oh yeah. I almost forgot that.' This raised a certain suspicion from Cloud, because the former Commander rarely forgot things and voiced it out-loud, but then again, everyone forgot something once a while. _Heck, Kadaj always forgot his tools on my bed!_

The black hair man quickly excused himself and headed back to the way they came from. As soon as he had left, Gillian looked at him with a bright smile and asked he wanted some tea, which Cloud gladly accepted the offer.

Angeal's mother asked him to wait for a few minutes before she entered the kitchen room. Cloud took his time to look around the living room, it's maybe small and simple, but everything felt lively, with small pots of plants and photos.

One of the photos caught the blue sapphire eyes' attention. Cloud slowly stood and walked towards the small drawers where the photo laid on top. The picture showed a short black hair six-years-old kid with another kid about his age standing next to a Banora tree and smiling at the camera.

The blond picked up the frame and looked closer to the boy next to the probably little Angeal. The boy had shoulder-length auburn hair, which some bang covered the left side of his face, hiding one of the blue azure eyes that seemed to shine. _Genesis..._

The delivery boy put down the duo's photo and looked at the others on the drawer, all of them had Genesis in them, from childhood to SOLDIER. He took up another frame that held the photo of Genesis in his red coat, his face emotionless. Comparing the other one, the auburn hair man looked less happy at Shinra than when he is still a child.

'Genesis was always more joyful when he is with us.' Startled, Cloud almost dropped the wooden frame from his hands as he whirled around to see Gillian placing a tray with a small teapot and two tea cups filled with clear steaming liquid on the table. 'His parents had always considered only as a tool, never as their own child, not even a human being...'

The woman took her seat and pointed the chair opposite of hers to Cloud. The blond placed back to its original spot and took his seat and tea as Gillian continued: 'Genesis had never thought that his parent had considered him as a tool, only that their family's legacy is more important than what he wanted to be or to do. He had loved them, only in more discreet way.'

The Ex-SOLDIER glanced at the sad woman for a second before he looked at the slowly cooling liquid in his cup as he remembered clearly how Moon had dug his fake parents' grave with his own two hands and buried them personally than just letting rot in a corner of the mansion. _He has a good heart all along, it's just that it was covered in thorns, which hid and protect it from others, but they hurt it at the same time._

'Judging by your expression, I guess you knew that already, don't you?' Gillian asked before she took a sip of her tea with an expression of I-know-everything on her face.

'Yes, in a manner of speaking.' Cloud replied before he brought the cup to his lips and drank the whole content in one breath.

'Thank you.' The blond looked at the woman questionably. 'For giving what Genesis longed for so long in his life...'

'I didn't give anything...' Cloud replied as he pushed the cup away from him. 'He gave me my dreams, my hope, my life... And all did was just watching him died in front of me without doing a single thing to save him...'

The dark brown hair woman placed her hand gently on the blond hair boy's in a comforting way as she said with a small smile: 'Being there for him is already enough for him. To see you safe and unharmed would be what Genesis wanted the most before he joined the Lifestreams.'

Cloud shook his head and pulled his hand away from the woman's as he whispered wearily: 'That doesn't change the fact that I _did_ let him die...'

They stayed in silence for a long moment, lost in their own guilt and painful memories. Then Gillian cleared her throat, pointing to a room, and suggested to Cloud: 'Why don't you go and have some rest in Angeal's room? He won't be coming back for another two to three hours.'

'Thank you. I'm a little tired, now that you mention it.' Cloud said tiredly as he got up and headed towards the indicated room while the dark brown hair woman took up the tea set.

The room of the former Commander was well organized and clean, the Buster Sword that was once the memento of both Angeal's and Zack's legacy and pride in Cloud's future self's timeline is now well polished and rested neatly on the wall at the far corner of the room next to the bed.

Cloud slowly ran his fingers over the hilt of the giant sword. The sword might look plain and empty, but it held many memories in it just like him, from the past to the future.

_Would it be better if JENOVA did take control over Sephiroth's mind?_ A voice asked in his mind. Cloud immediately slapped himself hard and hid his face in his hands, ashamed.

_You can't think about that! Cloud Strife! It isn't worth it! Everything will be ruin! Your life will be ruin! Moon and Genesis did this for everyone, for your happiness!_ The blond scrolled himself as he popped down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. _Everything they did is worth it... Even if I lost half of my heart and soul for it... It's worth it... It's worth it... Everything..._

Blue sapphire eyes slowly closed themselves and the blond fell into another dream filled with the memories of the owner of the red orange eyes.

***

When Cloud woke up, the black starry curtain of the night had already replaced the blue sunny sky. The delivery boy slowly got up as he wondered how long did he slept. He quickly walked out of Angeal's room and was about to apologize to Gillian about his rather long nap, but he found no one in the dark living room.

His mako-enhanced eyes scanned the room quickly and then he tried to pick up some sound in house, but there is nothing. Everything is quiet, too quiet in fact. The blond ran outside to find the other houses lightless and probably empty also, the only place that still had some light on is at the Rhapsodos' mansion.

_Everything is so... Lifeless..._ Cloud thought as he walked towards the mansion. When he was closer, he found that it wasn't only the light in the mansion that he saw. There is also light coming from the Banora tree! The marble white tree is now glowing in faint blue light. _It's so beautiful..._

Cloud would have stayed there, looking at the tree all night, but knowing what happen to the village is more important. The blond quickly got to his motorcycle and retrieved the main blade of First Tsurugi, leaving the six other pieces in the compartment. His sword and his ice skills are enough to beat anything, from a simple thief to a powerful summoned creature.

He quietly made his way to the double door entrance which was left ajar. _What the hell is going on here? _The blond thought as he walked into the hall and looked around him.

When he decided to search the upper floor first, he suddenly heard a small clinging sound on his left. The blond turned to the closed double door on his left and slowly approached it, his hand on the hilt of the sword tighten as he caught the sound of people's breathing and heartbeats.

He put his hand on the handle of the door and counted to three in his head before he burst into room, but when he did that, someone suddenly turned on the light, causing him to close his enhanced eyes, then another person jumped on him by surprise and caused them to both hit the floor.

'SURPRISE!!!' The blond heard the person on top of him yelled out, someone whom is very familiar with. When he opened his eyes the things he noticed was the mako cat-like eyes and shoulder-length silver hair hovering above him.

'KADAJ?!' Cloud quickly pushed the black leather clothed teen off of him and looked around him. The villagers are here, so is Angeal's mother and all of his friends! From Shinra to his family and from those he knew very well to those he hardly knew.

'See, Zack! I told you that Nii-san doesn't like surprises.' Kadaj said smugly as he got up and dusted himself up. '_And_ I told you that putting that drug in the tea is a bad idea too.'

'DRUG?!' Cloud repeated and stared at the spiky raven hair SOLDIER accusingly.

'Hey! You suggest it first!' Zack shouted back indignantly, completely ignoring the angry blond on the floor. 'Beside Cloud arrived here too soon and you miscalculated it! You told us that he won't be here until four pm, but instead it was exactly twelve o'clock and we have more than half of the job left undone! If not, I wouldn't have to put some extra sleeping pills in his drink!'

'Oh now is my fault! I recall that someone was panicking when he heard Nii-san's motorcycle outside and quickly ran towards Angeal's house and put some extra sleeping pills into a tea that had already some sedative drugs in it!' Kadaj shouted angrily as he glared at the spiky hair man.

_Control... Control... Control... _Cloud started to mutterer in his mind as he tried to keep himself calm and not do anything rash, such as trying to behead the two _always_ immature boys or freezing them into an ice cube and smash them into pieces. He could have calmed his anger, if the two boys didn't start to argue louder and louder.

The Ex-SOLDIER quickly got up and hit both of on the head, hard enough to leave a large bump for a week, shouting: 'DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO THAN DOING SOMETHING AS CHILDISH AS THIS!'

'That's mean Cloudy. We just wanted to make a surprise for you.' Zack pouted, like kicked puppy.

'Yeah, Nii-san. Ouch. After all today is your special day.' Kadaj said as he rubbed the small bump on his head.

'What?' Cloud looked at them questionably.

'Today is August 11th.' Sephiroth, wearing a white sleeve shirt and black leather pants, said as he pulled the blond up to his feet.

'August 11th?' The delivery boy repeated, rumbling in his mind and searching for the meaning of this particular date. Then it hit him like a Mega Flare from a large Bahamut. 'Oh.'

'Oh indeed my dear.' Rayne Strife said as she approached her son and planted a small kiss on his forehead. 'Happy birthday Cloud. Gaia what is the world going into, with you forgetting your own birthday.'

Cloud let out a small embarrassed laugh and scratched his neck nervously. He had been so concentrated on his deliveries that he had completely forgotten that it is his birthday today, but drugging him was really a little bit out of the limit. Still, he was happy.

'Come on Nii-san! Your cake waits!' Kadaj said excitedly as he dragged the blond towards the table in the middle of this large ballroom, the other tables next to it were filled with different kind of foods and drinks. The one in the middle had one large chocolate cake with his name and a small lighten candle on the center.

'Hurry up! Hurry up! Make a wish!' Zack and Kadaj said at the same time, jumping up and down on their spots. Angeal and Sephiroth shook their heads in exasperation at the two puppy-like boys.

The blond rolled his eyes in annoyance before he closed them. There is only one wish that he always wanted, but it will always be a wish that will never be realized, no matter how much he thought about it or how long he kept repeating it. It will remain a dream forever and ever.

_I want to see him again. I want to see him smile again._ Cloud wished as he blew off the small flame of the candle. At that exact moment, Hell broke loose.

Cheers and applauses irrupted in the ballroom, there are even some "FOOD!" or "DIG IN!" came out of the sea of the people. The blond quickly jumped away from the food-filled tables as the guests rushed towards them like hungry wolves.

'Sheesh. Everyone is dying of hunger or what?' Cloud said in a low voice, so no one who doesn't have enhanced hearing could hear what he just said, as he moved away from the large crowd and stood at the corner of the room where he could see everything.

'Well, you can't really blame them.' Sephiroth softly said as he joined him in silence. 'After all, they had spent at three hour and thirty minutes to wait for you to wake up and come to the mansion. They had become quite hungry and thirsty.'

'And staring the food and not touching them could be a little more troublesome.' Kadaj chipped in, giving them two pieces of chocolate cake with the forks. The two men took their piece of cake and ate silently as they watched the other guests scattered around the large luxury room, talking about all and nothing.

After a moment, Kadaj suddenly asked: 'Hey, Nii-san, will you miss me like you miss him, if I disappear one day?'

'What?' Cloud almost dropped his fork at the sudden strange question. 'What do you mean?'

The silver hair boy looked at his leather gloved hand sadly as he replied: 'Well, I'll disappear one day or another, right? I was created by JENOVA through the tainted Lifestream. Now she is gone and all, my existence in this world will slowly fade away, right? Or... JENOVA might control my mind again...'

'That I might not be certain, my boy. Ho ho hooo!' A old and wise voice spoke out.

The trio looked up to see a man in his late eighties in a blue and green robe and wore a pair of thick sunglass came floating towards them. The old man was named Bugenhagen, a retired skilled Shinra employee and also known as the Elder of Cosmos Canyon, and he is also the adoptive grandfather of Nanaki.

'Hello, Bugenhagen. What do you mean by it might not be certain? Does that mean that Kadaj won't fade away or being control?' Cloud asked worried. Kadaj might sometimes be troublesome, but he is a brother to him, he can't allow anything bad happen to him after all they had been through.

'Yes, it is.' Bugenhagen replied with one of his mysterious smile. 'Though I might not be sure, but I get the feeling that it is impossible that JENOVA can still reside inside of Kadaj or Sephiroth or anyone who had her cells in them.'

'Why is that?' Sephiroth asked, curious.

'You see, from the files that Shelke had been able to save in the network and other information that I had gathered. Genesis from the future, had always been staying and guarding Cloud all along the years of training in Shinra, am I correct?' The trio nodded. 'Ho ho hoo. It is a theory that I cannot confirm, but I believe that it is true. Gaia had created the weapon that will annihilate JENOVA from the face of the planet.'

'WHAT!?' Cloud and Kadaj shouted, but quickly covered their mouth with their hand. Looking around, people were talking so loud that they hardly heard their shout.

'What do you mean by that? Nii-san was Gaia's ultimate weapon. He is more powerful than any of the giant armored monstrous Weapons that the Lifestreams had created to protect the planet.' Kadaj said in a low voice.

'No, no, no, Kadaj. Not that sort of Weapon.' Bugenhagen replied as he readjusted his sunglasses. 'I think that Gaia had reconstructed the cells inside Genesis from the future, making them immune to JENOVA cells, but they do not have the strength to completely eradicated JENOVA cells inside a body.'

'What does that have to do with us?' Kadaj asked impatiently.

'The cells have the potential to evolve and reconstructed in many ways to protect themselves. The point is, when Genesis approached Cloud, the cells inside him started to affect Cloud's and the endless cycle of evolution started. But what really made Cloud's cells more immune to JENOVA cells, is that they are not only fused with the alien cells, but with the Lifestreams too. Making them more powerful than the ones that was inside Genesis' and had more wide range of infecting and changing the JENOVA cells.' Seeing the blank looks of the trio, Bugenhagen put his explanation in a more simple way to understand. 'This means that all of you, who had JENOVA cells before, now had Cloud's modified ones and are more connected to him. So you won't disappear, unless Cloud died or you died of old age, which I doubt that it will happen.'

'Grandfather.' A low feline voice said. The red lion slowly walked towards them, giving each of them a respect bow before he looked at his adopted grandfather. 'The others are waiting for you about the Lifestreams reaction after the incident of JENOVA at Midgar.'

'Ah yes, Nanaki. Excuse me gentlemen.' The elder of Cosmo Canyon excused himself and followed Nanaki through the crowd.

Cloud let out a heavy sigh, trying to calm down and digesting the information that was given to them, as he turned to say something to Kadaj, but the teen didn't give him the chance to say anything and ran off, saying that he had something to talk with Zack.

'I don't think you need to worry about him, he is fine. I could easily feel it.' Sephiroth said in a reassuring tone. 'I think the one who needs people to worry about is you.'

'Me? Don't be ridiculous Sephiroth. I'm fine and I lived happily with Kadaj. Everything is great.' Cloud said as he gestured around him to empathize his meaning.

'Of course, but tell me why every year you simply told Kadaj to drop a bouquet at Genesis memorial at Edge, instead of coming there personally?' The once Great General demanded as he slammed his half empty dish down on nearest table.

'Then why didn't you visit Lucrecia all these years?' Cloud shot back and slammed his on the table too, holding back his anger and glaring at the silver hair General. He had showed both Sephiroth and Vincent the crystal cave where Lucrecia is resting, in coma-like state and imprisoned inside crystals, waiting for her child and her lover to come see her one day. Well, the lover part was complete, but the child part isn't.

Their glaring contest continued for about another ten minutes, then Sephiroth, looking ashamed and tired, turned his gaze to Zack's and Kadaj's small group as he said: 'I never really know her, I... I just don't know what to say when I see her... It's sort of... Frightening... Even though Vincent told me lot of things about her, how beautiful and smart she was, and how much she wanted me to visit her... Still, I felt like she is a complete stranger to me, not like the warm welcoming feeling that I had pictured during my whole childhood...'

Sephiroth chuckled softly as he pulled a silver bang over his ear as he continued: 'I'm pretty much a coward, am I? Facing thousands of armies and powerful monsters all my life, fearless and confidant, and I were afraid of going inside a cave to meet my mother.'

Seeing the sadden expression of Sephiroth, Cloud thought about himself and what he did all these years. Deliveries and deliveries, he hardly talked to anyone than with Kadaj and Zack, who often came to his shop and pulled him out for a drink, other than that, he was completely isolated from the social world and drowned in the deep sea of memories of both past and future.

'I think I'm more of a coward than you are.' Cloud said as he looked out the window that is the closest to them. 'I was always running away, away from reality. I wanted to keep myself locked up inside my memories, so I won't feel guilty about what I had failed in the past. Like you, I don't want to go to Genesis memorial, because... I'm guilty... For his death... But you... You are guilty for never knowing the truth and had made her wait so long for you.'

'I guess what I want to say is.' Cerulean eyes looked into green cat-like eyes. 'Lucrecia had never blamed you for making her wait so long. You should really go and see her, I'm sure she'll be happy when you come with Vincent next time he visits.'

They stared at each other for a moment before a small smile appeared on Sephiroth before he placed his hand over the unruly golden spikes as he said: 'Now I understand why Genesis wants to protect you with his life. Thank you.'

'Sephiroth!' Someone called out. The two swordsmen turned to the crowd to see Angeal waving at them. The silver hair man quietly excused himself and left the blond alone in his corner.

Seeing that his last company had left, Cloud decided to have a walk outside while no one noticed him, so he silently slipped outside of the mansion. Feeling his breathing easier than before and the cold night air was calming his nerves.

* * *

**Author's note - The next chapter will be the ending! So stay tune for it!**

**THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO READ, REVIEW AND LIKE MY STORY!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.**

* * *

The Dream is Fulfilled

Cloud's steps almost echoed in the air as he approached the Banora tree next to the Rhapsodos' mansion, the exact place where he stood and witnessed Moon's miserable transformation.

His gloved hand slowly touched the marble-like tree bark and he could easily felt the warm glowing Lifestreams running inside the strange white tree. Sapphire blue eyes looked up at the fruits hang in the thin fragile-like branches. The young blond reached up and carefully took a Dumbapple off the branch, as if it was made of glass.

He brought the blue and white apple closer to his face, inhaling the sweet scent of the mysterious fruit, but when he was about to bite down, he heard a weary and familiar voice behind him asked.

_**Does it taste good?**_

Cloud whirled around as the village and mansion dissolved into a green broken landscape, the Banora tree next to him now had several cracks, next to the tree was him, or rather his future self, sitting on a broken chair like a lifeless wax doll, at his left on the ground was a dead Angeal clone, probably died of degradation judging by the white stone-like face, and on his right is Moon, who looked like he was in a deep sleep. The future Zack stood in front of the comatose blond, looking surprised by the voice as he does, but he kindly replied a genuine yes to the auburn hair man.

_**The "Gift of the Goddess"?**_ Moon asked weakly.

The raven hair man lifted the bitten Dumbapple in his hand up and expected for a second before he replied it with a question. _**This apple is?**_

Moon lightly shook his head, Cloud could _feel_ the strength of the man is slowly leaving him, as he forced his eyes opened and said in ragged breath. _**Angeal... The dream had been fulfilled.**_

'Moon...' Cloud spoke the name softly as the man drew out his last breath and the vision fade away. He slowly walked towards the spot where the auburn hair man is and tried to picture him there again. 'What is your dream really? Isn't becoming the Hero was your dream?'

The blond is confused, he couldn't understand what Moon meant by saying that his dream was fulfilled when he didn't become a hero. He just sat there and died...

Before he could think about it more thoughtfully, a soft shuffling caught his attention. He looked up to see a wolf with silver fur and golden eyes staring at him intensely. If wasn't because of the color of its fur, which is similar to Nibel wolves, and those eyes seemed to hold the same sadness and loneliness as he does, he would have thought it was only a simple wild lone wolf.

The silver wolf stared at him for another minute before it turned around, gesturing his head like telling him to come with it, and walked away, only to stop a few steps to look back at him, like making sure he was following it.

Cloud, seeing he had nothing to lose, quickly tucked the apple into one of the extra pocket of his harness and walked after the silver fur creature. They walked through dozen of thick bushes and normal green trees until they reached the entrance of a large cave. _Why do you bring me here?_ The blond thought as he looked around and spotted a wooden sign, warning any wanderers that the cave is dangerous.

When he turned back, the wolf was gone. He looked back at the entrance of the cave and saw two golden eyes staring at him before they vanished into thin air. The blond hair swordsman took a few steps towards the cave and stared at the spot where the eyes had vanished for moment. The wind blew gently behind him, almost like someone was slowly pushing him into the cave. Suddenly everything became kind of hazy in his mind, as his body moved on its own and walked into the dark cavern.

He walked and walked, passed endless turns and wooden bridges, going deeper and deeper into the darkness. It was only when he stepped into large underground void filled with glowing crystals that the haze that covered his mind started to lift off.

_What the hell?_ Cloud thought weakly as he shook his head lightly, still feeling a little lightheaded, and pressed himself against the closest stone. Taking in steady breath, Cloud felt the pain in his body and mind is slowly dissipating.

When he was about to stand up, he noticed something strange on the stone he was pressed against, running his hand over green moss covering it. After he got half of the moss off the rock, he could make out some words carved on it.

'"_When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end._"' The blond let out a surprised gasp at what he just reads. _This is Loveless! So this is the stone plate that Moon mentioned._

Cloud was about to brush off the remaining moss covering the rest of the tablet and finish the act, but he told himself that there are still a lot of unanswered questions in his mind that needed to be answer. Such as why a wolf or a spirit of some kind knows this secret cave, why bringing him here and what secrets could this place holds?

_Well, I won't have my answers by standing here and doing nothing._ Cloud thought as he got up and looked around him, trying to find a hint of some kind to which direction he should go to, because every tunnels and passages seemed the same.

The blond cursed in his mind as he walked down a small stone stairs. It was when he reached the bottom of the stairs that he caught the running shadow figure of the wolf in the tunnel at his left side, he quickly ran after it.

After a small turn, he entered another section of the underground maze, which was covered with moss and some small plants. Another stone tablet of Loveless stood next to him and he ran his hand over the top, to read the letters engraved on it. "_Loveless Act Five_".

Looking over the stone plaque containing the future of Gaia, he spotted a large metal gate with the image of a goddess painted on it and a large pedestal had the same goddess with seven holes in a star-like pattern, six of them had an orange materia inserted in, only the hole on the top was left empty.

Cloud ran his fingers lightly on the hollow space and suddenly felt certain familiar warmth in him. He quickly tugged out his broken necklace and found the orb shining in a faint orange glow. The blond stared at it and the pedestal for a moment before he carefully placed the cracked orb into the empty space. A loud clink sounded in the cave and the ground under his feet shook as the large gate before him slowly unlocked itself and revealed a bright pathway to him. The boy took a deep breath before he walked into the new passageway.

The swordsman could feel the Lifestreams flew passed him from each steps he took, it was almost like he is walking inside the Planet's bloodstream than on its outer shell. When he entered a chamber-like cave, his eyes widen in shock at what stood in front of him, a large tree holding a gigantic red Materia and at the base of the root was the statue of a goddess holding an orb with her two hands.

_**Cloud...**_ The blond snapped out of his trance at the sound of the familiar voice and the feeling of the presence of the owner of the voice.

He opened and closed his mouth quickly, not wanting to get his hopes up that the man he loved was here. _Don't hope, don't wish, you'll only hurt yourself in the end._ A small voice whispered in his mind.

The blond hair swordsman was about to back away, but when he did, a loud heartbeat echoed in the cavern and the red orb shone brightly, almost like the sun, forcing the blond to cover his eyes from the sudden brightness as a powerful wave of Lifestreams swept passed him.

Cloud didn't open his eyes until he felt the planet's bloodstreams are back to normal and no longer swirling around like a tornado, but he quickly wished he didn't open when he saw something, or rather someone, familiar floating at the base of the giant tree, that had no longer the red Materia.

It was a jet black phoenix with a red aura surrounding it. The orange red orbs of the creature looked into the sapphire blue deeply, like it was reading everything inside the swordsman's mind, before they closed themselves and the black wings wrapped around the flying creature.

Just like the first time he had ever seen Moon transformed back into his human form, the black feathers dissipated and showed the auburn hair man that the winged creature truly is. Cloud stared at the man in crimson coat, not knowing if he was dreaming or it is real.

'Cloud.' The man spoke in the same melodious voice that had kept him company in his dream.

The blond was about to run towards the auburn hair man and hug him, but he caught himself when he noticed something strange about the man. The left eye was not blue azure like the other one. It was ruby red like blood!

_No... Not another illusion... _Cloud thought as he shook his head in disbelieve and stepped back, while Moon look-alike slowly advanced fowards, looking confused and _concerned_?

'What's wrong Cloud?' The illusion asked worriedly.

_Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up._ The blond clamped his hands over his ears, muffling the voice of the replica of Moon. He could feel his heart beating faster and it was getting hard to breath, it was like he was inside a buried casket. Each heartbeat is hurting him!

_**Cloud?**_ The man spoke into his mind.

'SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!' Cloud screamed as he turned and ran.

He doesn't care if he might get lost in the endless underground maze. All he needed now is to get as far away as he can from that man, that replica, that copy, that fake Moon. Running and turning around many passages and tunnels, but he knew that he was slowly ascending, which meant that he will be back at the surface soon.

_**Cloud!**_ The only problem is that the illusion is pursing him and it won't shut up!

It was only when he finally reached outside and into the thick forest that the voice grew fainter, but he didn't slow down, afraid that if he did the replica will catch up and torture him with the voice and the face of the man he loved. He kept on running, but after running a few more minutes, he tripped and fell onto the ground, tired and tears pouring out of his eyes. Cloud curled into a tight ball as he sobbed and cried silently.

When he heard a small shuffling sound among the bushes, Cloud tried to make himself as small as possible as the sound became louder and closer, but the one emerged from the bushes was the wolf that had guided him into the deep maze.

'What do you want? Go away!' The blond spat at the silver furred creature angrily.

The wolf made no sign of leaving, this made Cloud even angrier. 'Are you sent by Gaia?' It made no response.

'Damn it Gaia! Leave me alone already!' Cloud screamed as he wiped away the tears on his cheeks with the back of his hand, closing his eyes. 'You had already tore away half of my soul and heart when Moon died, what else do you want from me? Is it not enough that I lost him and bear this guilt for five fucking long years!? Why can't you leave me alone already? Why? Why? Why?'

_**We didn't want to hurt you. **_The blond looked up to see his future self standing in front of him like an angel with the silver wolf next to him. The blond hair man knelt down and placed his hand over the unruly hair in a comforting gesture. _**We just wanted to free you from this... Curse of mine...**_

'Curse?' Cloud repeated.

_**It isn't an illusion. Moon did come back to life. The one you saw is Moon.**_ The future Cloud said in soft tone.

'You are lying, he can't be Moon. Gaia doesn't have the power to bring back the dead.' Cloud replied in a more calm voice.

_**Not if Gaia used the Goddess Materia created by her and the Ancients' powers.**_ _**And with a few helps from us. **_The blond hair man replied. _**Look, this is my last gift to you. Before I join the Lifestreams forever.**_

'I... I don't understand...' Cloud whispered like a frighten child.

_**When Moon died that day. Gaia was able to preserve the body of Genesis and kept it inside the Lifestreams, but Moon's soul was scattered into pieces from JENOVA's attack. **_The future Cloud started to explain. _**Usually, when a soul entered the Lifestreams, it will merge with it and it will never become one being again. Gaia summoned me and my friends to look for the missing pieces while she kept the found pieces together and from rejoining the Lifestreams.**_

'What's the difference? Moon is as good as dead. What you are talking about is impossible.' The young blond whispered weakly. 'You can't reassemble a soul.'

The older blond clasped the younger boy's shoulder and said in a serious tone. _**Cloud, listen to me. What we did would have been impossible if it weren't for your letters.**_

'What? What do you mean my letters?' Cloud asked, still not believing a single word that the man said, as he hid his face in his hands.

_**Moon had accepted his fate when he had given his life to save you. His soul, even though shattered into pieces, is ready to join the Lifestreams without any regret or fear. Gaia had tried to keep it together, but they kept slipping out of her grasps. We thought that Moon would never be whole again and you'll have to bear my curse, of failing to save someone closed to you. **_The older blond spoke softly, with a small hint of sadness in his voice. _**But when you sent those letters into the Lifestreams, his soul had stopped breaking and reassembled by itself.**_

The future Cloud put his hands on the shoulders of the younger blond as he said. _**Don't you see it Cloud? Moon's soul was trying to reach for yours. He was searching for you. You are the reason why we were, why he was, able to bring him...**_

'Stop... Please... Stop...' Cloud begged in a small voice. 'Please... Stop giving me any more hope...'

_**Cloud. **_The older blond said in a more desperate tone. _**Why can't you see it? This isn't an illusion. He is back. For you.**_

'Don't. Don't say that.' Cloud whispered in low almost threatening tone. 'I have spent five years, dreaming, hoping and searching for him. I know he is no longer alive. That man I saw isn't Moon. I know that, I could feel something was missing in him. Am I right?'

There was a long suffocating silence between the two blond before the future Cloud said truthfully. _**Some pieces of Moon's soul had merge with the Lifestreams, we can no longer retrieve them. Gaia had used other pieces to complete the missing parts of Moon's.**_

'Then he is as good as dead. Thank you for telling me.' Cloud said sarcastically and let out a bitter laugh.

The older blond was about to say something to comfort the heart-broken boy, but before he could utter a word, he felt someone's hand pressing against his shoulder. Looking away from his past self, the future Cloud met the blue cobalt eyes of his old friend Zack.

_**Let him have some time alone, Spiky. He needs right now.**_ The raven spiky hair man told him.

The older blond didn't want to leave his counterpart in state like this, but he reluctantly let go, knowing that his friend was right and forcing the truth onto his younger self won't help him, only deepening the wound further. He stood up and turned to the silver wolf, saying. _**Come on Fenrir. We're leaving.**_

The three spirits vanished into thin air, leaving the confused and lost swordsman alone in the cold night air.

_Moon..._ Cloud unconsciously called out in his mind before his eyelids fell over his dull sapphire eyes.

***

_Hana ha kaze ni yureodoru youni  
Ame ha daichi wo uroosu youni  
K__ono sekai ha yorisoiai ikiteru noni  
Naze hito ha kizutsukeau no  
Naze wakare ha otozureru no_

Cloud woke up from his deep slumber after three or four hours. He slowly rose to his feet and listened to his surrounding carefully, like a monster could attack him at any moment, but there is nothing, only the little creaking sound of the bugs.

_I should go back now. Kadaj is probably asking them to do search party by now._ The blond thought as he looked at the still starry sky. When he was about to take a step, he felt a presence behind him. _Please, don't be him._

He turned around to face the man he had tried to escape from in the underground maze who now stood a few steps away from him. His eyes locked with the replica's as he asked in threatening tone: 'Why are you following me?'

'Cloud...' Moon's counterpart reached out for him, which caused Cloud to take a step back. The copy, seeing the boy's reaction, stopped advancing and instead took a few steps back. 'You called out to me...'

'I... I didn't call you...' The blond quickly lied as he mentally cursed himself for his recklessness of saying Moon's name in his mind before he fell asleep. 'And even if I did... You don't need to come...'

'I... I made a promise with you...' The copy replied as he clutched his head like he was having a headache or something. 'I said... No I whispered in your mind... That I'll always be there when you need me and... When you call out my name...'

'No...' Cloud whispered as he shook his head and his left hand reached to the place where his heart is. His heartbeats are getting faster just like when he was in the cave and his lungs are having troubles to take the air he was breathing in. 'No... You didn't...'

_That's a promise between me and Moon... No one else had the right to know about that..._ Cloud thought as the pain in his chest doubled, it was like he was burning from the inside.

'Cloud?' Moon's replica took a few steps towards him, concerned written all over his features.

_Kimi ga tooku ni ittemo mada_

_Itsumo kono kokoro mannaka  
Ano yasahii egao de umetsukusareta mama  
Dakishimeta kimi no KAKERA ni  
Itami kanjitemo mada tsunagaru kara  
Shiniteru yo mata aeru to  
I'm waiting for your love_

'Stay away from me!' Cloud shouted when the man was about to touch him and quickly stumbled a few steps back.

'I just want to help you.' The counterpart said softly.

'The only way you can help is to stay away from me...' The blond breathed out, his heart is hurting him painfully, before his legs started to buckle and his vision became hazy. Then he felt himself fell forward, but before he hit the ground, the copy caught him and wrapped his arms around him, just like Moon did when they were inside the secret laboratory.

Remembering that warm feeling that those arms emanated, Cloud lashed out and hit the auburn hair man's shoulder feebly, wanting the pain in his chest and the memories playing in his mind to stop, as he chocked out: 'Let go... Let go of me...'

'No.' The copy of Moon replied as he pulled him closer, so close that Cloud could hear the steady beating of the man's heart. 'I won't let go...'

The blond struggled weakly for a few more minutes before he gave up. For some strange reason, the burning had ceased growing, but he could still feel the pain in his heart, a pain that he had long buried away.

He pressed his forehead against the replica's chest, exactly where the heart is, as he asked in a weak voice: 'Why won't you let me go?'

'I let you go once, I don't intent to make that mistake again and hurt you...' The auburn hair man replied calmly.

_I love you, I trust you  
K__imi no kodoku wo wakete hoshii  
I love you, I trust you  
Hikari demo yami demo futari dakara shinjiaeru no  
Hanasanaide_

'It doesn't matter to me anymore. It'll hurt, but I'll survive.' Cloud replied in a low monotonous voice. 'Why can't you just let me go? Like you said you did it once, why can't you do it again? How hard can it be?'

Cloud felt Moon's counterpart tighten his hold on him slightly before he replied: 'When I pushed you away that day and joined the Lifestreams, I lost myself. I lost my humanity.'

Blue sapphire eyes widen in surprise as the man continued: 'Because you are my only reason of still existing as... A human being, not as a monster...'

_These words..._ Cloud gently pulled away slightly, he put his hands over the man's face, tracing each curved and detail of the replica's features, trying to find what he had missed. The gloved hand carefully pulled back the long bangs that covered the red eye.

Deep sapphire eyes looked into the ruby red and azure blue ones. It was then he noticed the glow inside the stranger's eyes. The azure blue one was exactly like Moon just like he remembered, the glow of mako and of the strong soul; the bloody red one had the same glow as the other one, but there is something else in it, something familiar.

'Genesis...' Cloud whispered softly when he remembered where he had seen that familiar glow. It was the exact same glow of loneliness and sadness he had seen inside the crimson Commander's eyes, the man who had saved him twice and who he had failed to save five years ago.

The blond opened his mouth, wanting to apologize for letting the man died and to ask for forgiveness, but no voice came out. Before he could find his voice, the auburn hair man suddenly leaned down and gently pressed his lips against his. Even though it was just a small light contact, but Cloud could feel every single feeling that Genesis' and Moon's soul were revealing to him in this simple touch.

_S__ekai no hate wo dare ga mita no  
Tabi no owari wo dare ga tsugeru no  
Ima ha kotae ga mienakute nagai yoru demo  
Shinjita michi wo susunde hoshii  
Sono saki ni hikari ga matsu kara_

Also, he felt the pain in his chest was fading away and was replaced by the warm sensation that he got when Genesis had first kissed him, it healed and filled him with infinite warmth, melting away the icy frost that had encased his heart. Cloud closed his eyes and deepens their kiss, savoring the man's taste.

It was after what seemed like an eternity did Cloud felt the warm lips pulled back. The blond looked up at the man who had given everything he had and received nothing in return, wondering if he was still dreaming.

'Sorry for keeping you waiting so long.' The auburn hair man apologized as he planted another small kiss on his lips before he buried his face in the unruly blond hair, inhaling the sweet scent of the Savior of the world.

'Idiot.' Cloud whispered as a single tear ran down his cheek, but it was a tear of joy, not of sorrow.

Suddenly a snow flake fell out of no where and rested on the auburn hair man's shoulder, the blond pulled away slightly and looked up to see more white spots coming down. _Is it snowing? But Banora never snows before. _Then he noticed that the snow flakes that are falling around them had a certain unusual green taint on them.

Cloud turned around to see his future self, future Zack and the silver wolf, Fenrir, standing a few feet from them, their smile as bright as the aura surrounding them. The blond hair boy's smile mimicked the one of his older self as he said: 'Thank you, for everything.'

_Kimi ga oshietekureta uta ha  
Ima mo kono kokoro no mannaka  
A__no yasashii koe to tomoni hiibiteiru  
Afureru kimochi no shizuku ga  
Atatakaku hoho tsutau  
Tsuyoku naru ne shinjiteru yo tsunagatteru to  
I'm always by your side_

_**Everyone deserved redemption.**_ The former Champion replied before he looked up at the slowly brightening sky. _**Looks like it's almost time for the magic moment.**_

'Yep.' The younger blond looked up with a wide smile. The two other men gave them questioning looks.

After a few minutes, the first ray of the sun washed through the sky, revealing a view that will be mark deep inside anyone's mind. The light reflecting on the snow flakes created by the Lifestreams made them looked like tiny stars and the rising sun was like the core of a galaxy.

Cloud looked away from the magnificent view and asked his future self: 'Did you made all this?'

_**Consider it as a parting gift.**_ The older blond replied with a mysterious smile. _**It's time for us to follow our separate paths.**_

'Thank you.' The young blond said as the crimson coated man placed his hands over his shoulders.

_**No, thank **_**you**_**. **_The future Cloud said as the Lifestreams surround him and his two companions. _**Goodbye Cloud.**_

_**Bye-Bye Little Spiky!**_ The future Zack said with a goofy smile before they disappeared.

_I'm not little, thank you!_ Cloud shouted angrily in his mind as he mentally kicked himself for not punching the raven hair man when he had the chance. _Oh well, I'll just have to put the rain check on the present Zack._

The auburn hair man chuckled lightly, blue sapphire eyes turned to him questionably. _What are you laughing at?_

'You didn't change much, not like me.' The man replied with a hint of sadness.

_I love you, I trust you  
__Kimi no tame ni nagasu namida ga  
I love you, I trust you  
Ai wo oshietekureta donna ni kimi ga michi ni mayottemo  
Soba ni iru yo_

'Should I continue to call you Moon or should I call you by your real name?' Cloud asked, changing the subject.

This brought a small smile back on the man's face as he replied: 'I like the name you had given me.'

The blond smile widen as he took out the Dumbapple inside the pocket of his harness and asked: 'What was your dream? I thought that becoming the hero is your dream.'

'It was, but before that, I had another one.' Moon replied as Cloud took a small bite from the sweet fruit. _Which is?_ 'I want to share an apple with the greatest hero of all.'

After Moon had finished his sentence, Cloud pressed his sticky sweet lips against the man's, nibbling the lower lip, asking for entrance. When the mouth opened, he pushed some of the fruit into his lover's mouth and he only pulled away when he could no longer taste the fruit's sweetness, but Moon's.

'I guess your dream is granted.' Cloud whispered in husky voice.

_I love you, I trust you  
__Kimi no kodoku wo wakete hoshii  
I love you, I trust you  
Hikari demo yami demo  
I love you, I trust you  
Kanashimi demo yorokobi demo  
I love you, I trust you  
Kimi no subete wo mamoritai_

Then both Ex-SOLDIERs' enhanced hearing caught the shouts of Cloud's name. The blond turned his head towards the direction of the shouting and smiled, he could almost picture the faces that his friends will make when they'll see Moon with him.

_**I still have a wish that isn't granted yet.**_ Moon suddenly whispered in his mind, causing him to raise an eyebrow in question. _**Will you let me walk side by side with you in this pathway towards the unknown future, whether in pain or in happiness?**_

Cloud blinked in confusion before he caught on with the meaning of these words. Without answering the question, he dropped the bitten apple on the ground and pulled Moon by the hand, running towards the shouts and laughing as they ran.

'I'll take that as "yes".' Moon said as he laughed with the young swordsman.

'Of course it's a yes!' Cloud replied in between his laugh.

If they had their wings materialized on their back, they would have seen their single wing on their shoulders are slowly turning from black ash to white snow. They are finally freed from the endless cycle of pain and grief.

_D__onna ni kimi ga machi ni mayottemo  
Soba ni iru yo futari dakara shinjiaeru no  
Hanasanaide_

_**The End.**_

* * *

**Author's note - I hope all of you had enjoyed reading "The Endless Cycle" and I hope that those who like this story of Cloud/Genesis pairing will look forward to my next story!**

**The song I used in this chapter is called "Trust you" by Yuna Ito, the ending of Gundam 00 season 2.**

**THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO READ, REVIEW AND LIKE THIS STORY!**


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